m 









i 









ffliUSE: 



ALLEN'S CAPTIVITY, 



NARRATIVE 



COLONEL ETHAN ALLEN, 



CONTAINING HI3 



VOYAGES, TRAVELS, &c.. 



INTERSPERSED 



WITH POLITICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. 



BOSTON: 

OLIVER L. PERKINS. 

1845. 






<f 



7 



PREFACE 



Ethan Allen, the author and subject of 
the following narrative, was certainly one of 
the most, noted and notable men of his time. 
Bold, ardent and unyielding, he possessed an 
unusual degree of vigor both of body and 
mind, and an unlimited confidence in his own 
abilities. 

He was born in Roxbury, Litchfield county, 
Conn, on the 10th of January, 1737. He 
married in Connecticut, and migrated himself 
lO Vermont about the year 1769, where he 
spent most of his after life ; but his family did 
lot come here till 1778, just before his return 
rom captivity. At the commencement of 
listurbances in this territory, about the year 
[770, he took a most active part in favor of 
he Green Mountain Boys, as the settlers were 
hen called, in opposition to the government 
)f New York. On account of which, an act 



PREFACE. 



of outlawry against him was passed by this 
State, and fifty pounds were offered for his 
apprehension ; but his party was too numerous 
and faithful to permit him to be disturbed by 
any apprehensions for his safety. In all the 
struggles of the day he was successful ; and 
not only proved a valuable friend to those 
whose cause he had espoused, but he was 
humane and generous towards those with 
whom he had to contend. When called to 
take the field he showed himself an able leader 
and an intrepid soldier. He refrained from 
every thing which had the appearance of 
meanness, injustice, cruelty, or abuse towards 
those who fell into his power, and protested 
against the same in others. During the pro- 
gress of the controversy with New York, he 
wrote and dispersed several pamphlets in 
which he exhibited, in a manner peculiar to 
himself, and well suited to the state of public 
feeling, the injustice and cruelty of the claims 
and proceedings of this State. And although 
these pamphlets |are unworthy of notice as 
literary productions, yet they were at the time 



PREFACE. 7 

extensively circulated, and contributed much 
to inform the minds, arouse the zeal, and unite 
the efforts of the settlers. The bold and un- 
polished roughness of these writings were well 
suited to give a just description of the views 
and proceedings of a band of speculating and 
unprincipled land-jobbers. His method of 
writing was likewise well adapted to the con- 
dition and feelings of the settlers ; and proba- 
bly exerted a greater influence over their 
opinions and conduct, than the same senti- 
ments would have done, clothed in the chaste 
style of classic elegance. Nor did it differ 
greatly in style, or literary merit ; from the 
pamphlets which came from New York. But 
although he wrote with asperity and freedom, 
he was ever noble and generous and just. 

The most eventful period of Col. Allen's 
life was that between May 1775 and May 1778. 
This period is embraced in the following nar- 
rative. Being returned to Vermont, as an 
expression of confidence in his patriotism and 
military talents, he was vA soon afterwards 
appointed to the command of the State militia. 



b PREFACE. 

It does not appear, however, that his intre- 
pidity was ever afterwards brought to the test, 
though his patriotism was tried by an unsuc- 
cessful attempt of (he British to bribe him to 
effect a reunion of Vermont with Canada. 
Sir H. CHnton wrote to Lord Germaine, 
Feb. 1781, " there is every reason to suppose 
that Ethan Allen has quitted the rebel cause." 
It was his project to make a city, Vergennes, 
a mile square. His, daughter Pamela, married 
E. W. Keys, Esq., in 1803. Another 
daughter entered a nunnery in Canada ; and 
another died in her youth. Being called to 
the bedside of this one a short time previous 
to her death, (she having been instructed in 
the principles of Christianity by her mother, 
and by him in deislical principles,) she said 
to him, "I am about to die; shall I' believe 
the principles you have taught me, or shall I 
believe what my mother has taught nje .'^" He 
became agitated — his chin quivered — his whole 
frame shook, and he replied, " Believe what 
your mother has tauBt you.*' 



PREFACE. ^ 

Besides the pamphlets in the controversy 
with New York, and this narrative of his cap- 
tivity, our author also wrote " A Vindication 
of the Opposition of the Inhabitants of Ver- 
mont to the Government of New York, and 
th^eir right to form an independent State.'* 
This was published in 1779, and ^'Allen's 
Theology, or the Oracles of Reason, 1786." 

He died suddenly, of apoplexy, at his estate 
in Colchester, Feb. 12, 1789. His ashes 
rest beneath a plain marble slab in the beautiful 
cemetry near Winooski, lower falls, having 
upon it the following inscription : 

The 
Corporeal Part 
of 
GENERAL ETHAN ALLEN, ' 

Rests beneath this stone, 

r2th day Feb. 1789, 

Aged 50. 

His spirit tried ih^ mercies of his God 
In whom he believed and strongly trusted. 

His true age, as will appear from the record 
of his birth, was 52 years, l^month and 2 days. 

Two editions of this worf; one at Philadel- 
phia and the other at Boston, were printed 



lb 



PREFACE. 



during the year 1779, in which it was wtitten. 
Another was printed in Norwich, in 1780. 
The next, and only 'other that we have seen 
or heard of, was printed at Walpole, N. H. in 
1807. In the adveriisement to this, the pub- 
lishers say, " we have complied with the 
wishes of a number of persons, who had a de- 
sire to keep in remembrance the hero of 
Ticonderoga, and the exploits he performed," 
and ^' it is beheved that there is not a copy 
for sale in any bookstore in the United States.'' 
What they said in 1807 of preceding editions, 
we say now of all, including also theirs. 
Again, " the events of those troublous times, 
in which Col. Allen took a conspicuous part, 
are rendered doubly interesting, f/-om the 
lively, unadorned manner of his own narrative. 
As it is deemed that the very words in every 
respect, made use of by Col. Allen, would be 
more acceptable to the reader than any artifi- 
cial decoration of style, we shall almost inva- 
riably adhere to th^original." In this revised 
edition, we adhere*iot " almost invariably ;" 
but altogether to the original. 



PREFACE. II 

To conclude this preface, the writer would 
acknowledge himself indebted for the naate- 
rials of the sketch here presented of the begin- 
ning and end of Col. Allen's life, to Dr. 
William Allen's Biographical and Historical 
Dictionary, and to Zadock Thompson's Civil 
History of Vermont. F. W. E. 



INTRODUCTION 



^ Induced by a sense of duty to my country, 
and by the application of many worthy friends, 
some of whom are of the first characters, I 
have concluded to publish the following narra- 
tive of the extraordinary scenes of my captiv- 
ty, and the discoveries which I made in the 
course of the same, of the cruel and relentless 
disposition and behaviour of the enemy, to- 
wards the prisoners in their power ; from 
which the state politician, and every gradation 
of character among the people, to the worthy 
tiller of the soil, may deduce such inferences 
as they shall think proper to carry into prac- 
tice. Some men are appointed into office in 
these States, who read the history of the cru- 
elties of this war, with the same careless in- 
difference, as they do the pages of the Roman 
history ; nay, some are preferred to places of 
trust and profit by the tory influence. The 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

instances are, I hope, but rare, and it stands 
all freemen in hand to prevent their further in- 
fluence, which, of all other things, would be 
the most baneful to the liberties and happiness 
of this country ; and so far as such influence 
takes place, robs us of the victory we have 
obtained, at the expense of so much blood and 
treasure. 

I should have exhibited to the public a his- 
tory of the facts herein contained, soon after 
my exchange, had not the urgency of my pri- 
vate affairs, together with more urgent public 
business, demanded my attention until a few- 
weeks before the date hereof. The reader 
will readily discern, that a narrative of this 
sort, could not have been written when I was 
a prisoner ; my trunk and writings were often 
searched under various pretences, so that I 
never wrote a syllable," or even- made a rough 
minute, whereon I might predicate this narra- 
tive, but trusted solely to my memory for the 
whole. I have, however, .taken the greatest 
care and pains to recollect the facts and arrange 
ihem ; but as they touch a variety of characters 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

and opposing interests, I am sensible that all 
will not be pleased with the relation of them. 
Be this as it will, I have made truth my in- 
variable guide, and pledge my honor on the 
truth of the facts. 

I have been generous with the British, in 
giving them full and ample credit for all their 
good usage of any considerable consequence, 
which I met among them, during my captivity; 
which was easily done, as I met with but little, 
in comparison of the bad, which, by reason of 
the great plurality of it, could not be contained 
in so concise a narration ; so that I am certain, 
that I have more fully enumerated the favors 
which I received, than the abuses I suffered. 
The critic will be pleased to excuse any in- 
accuracies in the performance itself, as the 
author has, unfortunately, missed of a liberal 
education. ETHAN ALLEN. 

Bennington, 1779. 



NARRATIVE. 



Ever sinbe I arrived to a state of man- 
hood, and acquainted myself with the general 
history of mankind, I have felt a sincere pas- 
sion for liberty. The history of nations 
doomed to perpetual slavery, in consequence 
of yielding up to tyrants their natural-born 
liberties, 1 read with a sort of philosophical 
horror ; so that the first systematical and 
bloody attempt at Lexington, to enslave 
America, thoroughly electrified my mind, and 
fully determined me to take part with my 
country : And while I was wishing for an 
opportunity to signalize myself in its behalf, 
directions were privately sent to me from the 
then colony, now State, of Connecticut, to 
raise the Green Mountain Boys ; and if pos- 
sible with them to surprise and take the for- 
tress Ticonderoga. This enterprise I cheer- 
fully undertook ; and, after first guarding all 
the several passes that l^d thither, to cut oflf 
all intelligence between the garrison and the 
country, made a forced march from Benning- 
2* 



18 NARRATIVE OF 

ton, aod arrived at the lake opposite to Ticon- 
deroga. on the evening of the 9th day of May, 
1775, with two hundred and thirty valiant 
Green Mountain Boys ; and it was with the 
utmost difficulty that I procured boats to cross 
the lake. However, I landed eightyfive 
men near the garrison, and sent the boats 
back for the rear guard, commanded by Col. 
Seth Warner; but the day began to dawn, 
and 1 found myself under a necessity to attack 
the fort, before the rear could cross the lake ; 
and, as it was viewed hazardous, 1 harangued 
the officers and soldiers in the manner follow- 
ing : " Friends and fellow-soldiers, you have, 
for a number of years past, been a scourge 
and terror to arbitrary power. Your valor 
has been famed abroad, and acknowledged, 
as appears by the advice and orders to me 
from the General iVssembly of Connecticut, 
to surprise and take the garrison now before 
us. I now propose to advance before you, 
and in person conduct you through the wicket 
gate ; for we must this morning either quit 
our pretensions to valor, or possess ourselves 
of this fortress in a few minutes ; and, in as 
much as it is a desperate attempt, which none 
but the bravest of men dare undertake, I do 
not urge it on any contrary to his will. You 
that will undertake voluntarily, poise your 
firelocks." 



ETHAN ALLEN. 19 

The men being at this time drawn up in 
three ranks, each poised his firelock,, 1 ordered 
them to face to the right, and, at the head of 
the center-file, marched them immediately to 
the wicket-gate aforesaid, where I found a 
sentry posted, who instantly snapped his fusee 
at me. I run immediately toward him, and 
he retreated through the covered way into 
the parade within the garrison, gave a halloo, 
and ran under a bomb-proof. Sly party who 
followed me into the ibrt, 1 formed on the 
parade in such manner as to face the two 
barracks which ft^ce'd each other. The gar- 
rison being asleep, except the sentries, we 
gave three huzzas which greatly surprised 
them. One of the sentries made a pass at 
one of my officers with a charged bayonet, 
and slightly wounded him. My first thought 
was to kill him with my sword ; but, in an 
instant, altered the design and fury of the 
blow to a slight cut on the side of the head ; 
upon which he dropped his gurir, and asked 
quarter, which 1 readily granted him, and de- 
manded of him the place where the com- 
manding ofiicer kept ; he shewed me a pair 
of stairs in the front of a barrack, on the west 
part of the garrison, which led up to a second 
story in said barrack, to which 1 immediately 
repaired, and ordered the commander, Capt. 



20 NARRATIVE OF 

Delaplace, to come forth instantly, or 1 would 
sacrifice the whole garrison ; at which the 
Captain came immediately to the door with 
his breeches in his hand, when I ordered him 
to deliver to me the Ibrt instantly, who asked 
me by what authority I demanded it : I an- 
swered him, " In the name of the great Jeho- 
vah and the continental Congress."* The 
authority of the Congress being very little 
known at that time, he began to speak again; 
but 1 interrupted him, and with my drawn 
sword over his head, again demanded an im- 
mediate surrender of the garrison ; to which 
he then complied ^ and ordered his men to be 
forthVvith paraded without arms, as he had 
given up the garrison. In the mean time 
some of my officers had given orders, and in 
consequence thereof, sundry of the barrack 
doors were beat down, and about one third 
pf the garrison imprisoned, which consisted of 
the said commander, a Lieut. Feltham, a con- 
ductor of artillery, a gunner, two sergeants, 
and forty-four rank and file ; about one hun- 
dred pieces of cannon^ one thirteen-inch mor- 
tar, and a number of swivels. This surprise 
was carried into execution in the gray of the 
morning of the tenth day of May, 1775. The 
sun seemed to rise that morning with a supe- 
rior lustre ; and Ticonderoga and its depend- 



ETHXN ALLEN. 21 

encies smiled on its conquerors, who tossed 
round the flowing bowl, and wished success 
to Congress, and the Hberty and freedom of 
America. Happy it was for me, at that time, 
that the then future pages of the book of fate, 
which afterwards unfolded a miserable scene 
of two years and eight months' imprisonment, 
was "hid from my view. But to return to my 
narration. Col. Warner, with the rear guard, 
crossed the lake, and joined me early in the 
rhorning, whom I sent oflf, without loss of 
time, with about one hundred men, to take 
possession of Crown Point, which was gar- 
risoned with a sergeant and twelve men; 
which he took possession of the same day, as 
also upwards of one hundred pieces of can- 
non. But one thing now remained to be 
done, to make ourselves complete masters of 
Lake Champlain. This was to possess our- 
selves of a sloop of war, which was then lay- 
ing at St. Johns ; to effect which, it was 
agreed in a council of war, to arm and man 
out a certain schooner, which lay at South 
Bay, and that Captain (now General) Arnold 
should command her, and that I should com- 
mand the batteaux. 

The necessary preparations being made, 
we set sE^il from Ticonderoga in quest of the 
sloop, which was much larger, and carried 



22 NARRATIVE OF 

more guns and heavier metal than the schoon- 
er. General Arnold, with the schooner, sail- 
ing faster than the batteaux, arrived at St. 
Johns ; and by surprise possessed himself of 
the sloop, before I could arrive with the bat- 
teaux. He also made prisoners of a sergeant 
and twelve men, who were garrisoned at that 
place. 

It is worthy of remark, that as soon as Gen. 
Arnold had secured the prisoners on board, 
and had made preparation for sailing, the 
wind, which but a few hours before was fresh 
in the south, and well served to carry us to 
St. John's, now shifted, and came fresh from 
the north ; and in one about one hour's time, 
General Arnold sailed with the prize and 
schooner for Ticonderoga. When I met 
him with my party, within a few miles of St. 
John's, he saluted me with a discharge of 
cannon, when I returned with a volley of 
small arms. This being repeated three times, 
I went on board the sloop with my party, 
where several loyal Congress healths were 
drank. We were now masters of lake Cham- 
plain, and the garrisons depending thereon. 

This success I viewed of consequence in 
the scale of American politics ; for if a settle- 
ment between the then colonies and Great 
Britain, had soon taken place, it would have 



ETHAN ALLEN. 23 

been easy to have restored these acquisitions; 
but viewing the then future consequences of a 
cruel war, as it has really proved to be, and 
the command of that lake, garrisons, artillery, 
&,c., must be viewed to be of signal import- 
ance to the American cause, and it is marvel- 
Joiis to me that we ever lost the command of 
it. Nothing but the taking of a Burgoyne, 
with a whole British army, could, in my 
opinion, atone for it ; and notwithstanding 
such an extraordinary victory, we must be 
obliged to regain the command of that lake 
again, be the cost what it will. By doing 
this, Canada will easily be brought into union 
and confederacy with the United States of 
America. Such an event would put it out of 
the power of the western tribes of Indians to 
carry on a war with us, and be a solid and 
durable bar against any further inhuman bar- 
barities committed on our frontier inhabitants, 
by cruel and blood-thirsty savages ; for it is 
impossible for them to carry on a war except 
they are supported by the trade and commerce 
of some civilized nation ; which to them 
would be' impracticable, did Canada compose 
a part of the American empire. 

Early in the fall of the year, the little army, 
under the command of the Generals Schuyler 
and Montgomery, were ordered to advance 



24 NARRATIVE OF 

into Ciinada. I was at Ticonderoga when 
this order arrived: and the Gen., with most 
of the field officers, requested me to attend 
them in the expedition ; and though at that 
time I had no commission from Congress, 
yet they engaged me, that I should be con- 
sidered as an officer the same as though I 
had a commission ; and should, as occasion 
might require, command certain detachments 
of the army. This I considered as an hon- 
orable offisr, and did not hesitate to comply 
with it, and advanced with the army to the 
isle Auix Noix ; from whence I was ordered 
by the General to go in company with Major 
Brown, and certain interpreters, through the 
woods into Canada, with letters to the Cana- 
dians, and to let them know that the design 
of the army was only against the English 
garrisons, and not the country, their liberties, 
or religion. And having, through much dan- 
ger, negotiated this business, . I returned to 
the isle Auix Noix the fore part of Septem- 
ber, when Gen. Schuyler returned to Albany ; 
and in consequence the command devolved 
upon Gen. Montgomery, whom I assisted in 
laying a line of circumvallation round the for- 
tress St. John's. After which I was ordered 
by the General to make a second tour into 
Canada, upon nearly the same design as be 



ETHAN ALLEN. 25 

fore ; and withal to observe the disposition, 
designs and movements of the inhabitants of 
the country. 

This reconnoitre I undertook with reluc- 
tance, choosing rather to assist at the siege of 
St. John's, which was then closely invested ; 
but my esteem for the General's person, and 
opinion of him as a politician and brave officer, 
induced me to proceed. 

I passed through all the parishes on the 
river Sorrel, to a parish at the mouth of the 
same, which is called by the same name, 
preaching politics ; and went from thence 
across the Sorrel to the river St. Lawrence, 
and up the river through the parishes to Lon- 
gale, and so far met with good success as an • 
itinerant. In this round, my guard were Cana- 
dians, my interpreter and some k\v attendants 
excepted. On the morning of the 24th day 
of September, I set out with my guard of 
about eighty men, from Longale, to go to 
Lapraier ; from thence I determined to go to 
Gen. Montgomery's camp ; but had not ad- 
vanced two miles before I met with Major 
Brown, who has since been advanced to the 
rank of a Colonel, who desired me to halt, 
saying that he had something of importance to 
communicate to me and my confidants, upon 
which I halted the party, and went into an 
3 



25 NARRATIVE OF 

house, and took a private room with him and 
several of my associates, where Col. Brown 
proposed, that " Provided I would return to 
Longale, and procure some canoes, so as to 
cross the river St. Lawrence, a Httle north 
of Montreal, he would cross it a little to th3 
south of the town, with near two hundred 
men, as he had boats sufficient ; and that we 
would make ourselves masters of Montreal.'' 
This plan was readily approved by me and 
those in Council ; and in consequence of 
which I returned to Longale, collected a few 
canoes, and added about thirty English Amer- 
icans to my party, and crossed the river in the 
night of the 24th, agreeable to the before pro- 
posed plan. My whole party, at this time, 
consisted of about one hundred and ten men, 
near eighty of whom were Canadians. We 
were the most of the night crossing the river, 
as we had so few canoes that they had to pass 
and re-pass three times, to carry my party 
across. Soon after day break, I set a guard 
between me and the town, with special orders 
to let no person whatever pass or re-pass 
them, and another guard on the orher end of 
the road, with like directions; in fhe mean 
time, I reconnoitred the best ground to make 
a defence, expecting Col. Brown's party were 
landing on the other side of the town, he hav- 



ETHAN ALLEN. 27 

ing the day before agreed to give three huz- 
zas with his men early in the morning, which 
signal I was to return, that we might each 
know that both parties were landed ; but the 
sun by this time being near two hours high, 
and the sign failing, I began to conclude my- 
self to be in a premunire, and would have 
crossed the river back again, but 1 knew the 
enemy would have discovered such an at- 
tempt ; and as the recould not more than one, 
third part of my troops cross at one time, the 
other two-thirds would of course fall into 
their hands. This I could not reconcile to 
my own feelings as a man, much less as an 
officer ; I therefore concluded to maintain 
the ground, if possible, and all to fare alike. 
In consequence of this resolution, I despatched 
two messengers, one to Lapraire to Colonel 
Brown, and the other to Lasumption, a French 
settlement, to Mr. Walker, who was in our 
interest, requesting their speedy assistance; 
giving them at the same time to understand 
my critical situation. In the mean time, sun- 
dry persons came to my guards, pretending 
to be friends, but were by them taken prison- 
ers and brought to me. These I ordered to 
confinement, till their friendship could be fur- 
ther confirmed ; for I was jealous they were 
spies, as they proved to be afterwards. One 



28 NARRATIVE OF 

of the principal of them making his escape, 
exposed the weakness of my party, which 
was the final cause of my misfortune ; for I 
have been since informed that Mr. Walker, 
agreeable to my desire, exerted himself, and 
had raised a considerable number of men for 
my assistance, which brought him into diffi- 
culty afterwards : but upon hearing of my 
misfortune, disbanded them again. 

The town of Montreal was in a great tu- 
mult. Gen. Carlton and the royal party made 
every preparation to go on board their vessels 
of force, as I was afterwards informed, but 
the spy escaping from my guard to the town, 
occasioned an alteration in their policy, and 
emboldened Gen. Carlton to send the force, 
which he had there collected, out against me. 
I had previously chosen my ground, but when 
I saw the number of the enemy, as they sal- 
lied out of the town, I perceived it would be 
a day of trouble, if not of rebuke ; but I had 
no chance to flee, as Montreal was situated 
on an island, and the river St. Lawrence cut 
off m.y communication to Gen. Montgomery's 
camp. I encouraged my soldiery to bravely 
defend themselves, that we should soon have 
help, and that we should be able to keep 
the ground, if no more. This, and much 
more I affirmed with the greatest seeming 



ETHAN ALLEN. 29 

assurance, and which in reality 1 thought to 
be in some degree probable. 

The enemy consisted of not more than forty 
regular troops, together with a mixed multi- 
tude, chiefly Canadians, with a number of 
English who lived in the town, and some In- 
dians ; in all to the number of near five hun- 
dred. 

The reader will notice that most of my 
party were Canadians ; indeed it was a mot- 
ley parcel of soldiery which composed both 
parties. HoweveV, the enemy began the at- 
tack from wood piles, ditches, buildings, and 
such like places, at a considerable distance, 
and I returned the fire from a situation more 
than equally advantageous. The attack began 
between two- and three of the clock in the 
afternoon, just before which 1 ordered a vol- 
unteer, by the name of Richard Young, with 
a detachment of nine men as a flank guard, 
which, under the cover of the bank of the 
river, could not only annoy the enemy, but at 
the same time, serve as a flank guard to the 
left of the main body. 

The fire continued for some time on both 
sides ; and I was confident that such a remote 
method of attack could not carry the ground, 
provided it should be continued until night. 
but near half the body of the enemy began to 
3* 



30 NARRATIVE OF 

flank round to my right ; upon which I or- 
dered a volunteer, by the name of John Du' 
gan, who lived many years in Canada, and 
understood the French language, to detach 
about fifty of the Canadians, and post himself 
at an advantageous ditch, which was on my 
right, to prevent my being surrounded. 

He advanced with the detachment, but in- 
stead of occupying the post, made his escape, 
as did likewise Mr. Young upon the left, 
with their detachments. I ^oon perceived that 
the enemy was in possession of the ground 
which Dugan should have occupied. At this 
time I had but about fortyfive men with me ; 
some of whom were wounded. 

The enemy kept closing round me, nor 
was it in my power to prevent it, by which 
means my situation, which was advantageous 
in the first part of the attack, ceased to be so 
in the last ; and being almost entirely sur- 
rounded with such vast, unequal numbers, I 
ordered a retreat, but found that those of the 
enemy, who were of the country, and their 
Indians, could run as fast as my men, though 
the regulars could not. 

Thus I retreated near a mile, and some of 
the enemy, with the savages, kept flanking 
me, and others crowded hard in the rear. In 
fine I expected in a very short time lo try the 



ETHAN ALLEN. 3l 

world of spirits, for I was apprehensive that 
no quarter would be given to me, and there- 
fore had determined to sell my my life as dear 
as I could. 

One of the enemy's officers boldly pressing 
in the rear, discharged his fusee at me ; the 
ball whistled near me, as did many others that 
day. I returned the salute, and missed him, 
as running had put us both out of breath ; for 
T conclude we were not frighted. 1 then sa- 
luted him with my tongue in a harsh manner, 
and told him that inasmuch as his numbers 
were so far superior to mine, I would surren- 
der, provided I could be treated with honor, 
and be assured of good quarter for myself and 
the men who were with me ; and he answered 
I should ; another officer coming up directly 
after, confirmed the treaty ; upon which I 
agreed to surrender with my party, which then 
consisted of thirty-one e|Fective men, and 
seven wounded. I ordered them to ground 
their arms, which they did. 

The officer I capitulated with, then di- 
rected me and my party to advance towards 
him, which was done. I handed him my 
sword, and in half a minute after, a savage, 
part of whose head was shaved, being almost 
naked and painted, with feathers intermixed 
with the hair of the other side of his head, 



S2 NARRATIVE OF 

came running to me with an incredible swift- 
ness ; he seemed to advance with more than 
mortal speed ; as he approached near me, his 
helHsh visage was beyond all description ; 
snake eyes appear innocent in comparison of 
his ; his features extorted ; malice, death, 
murder, and the wrath of devils and damned 
spirits are the emblems of his countenance ; 
and in less than twelve feet of me, presented 
his firelock. 

At the instant ot his present, I twitched 
the officer to whom I gave my sword between 
me and the savage ; but he flev/ round with 
great fury, trying to single me out to shoot 
me without kilHng the officer ; but by this 
time I was near as nimble as he, keeping the 
officer in such a position that his danger was 
my defence. 

But in less than half a minute, I was at- 
tacked hy just such another imp of hell. 
Then 1 made the officer fly round with incred- 
ible velocity for a few seconds of time, when 
I perceived a Canadian (who had lost one eye, 
as appeared afterwards) taking my part against 
the savages : and in an instant an Irishman 
came to my assistance with a fixed bayonet, 
and drove away the fiends, swearing by Jasus 
he would kill them. This tragic scene com- 
posed my mind. The escaping from so aw- 



ETHAN ALLEN. 33 

ful a death made even imprisonment happy ; 
the more so as my conquerors on the field 
treated me with great civility and politeness. 

The regular officers said that they were 
very happy to see Col. Allen. I answered 
them, that f should rather choose to have seen 
them at Gen. Montgomery's camp. The 
gentlemen replied that they gave full credit 
to what I said, and as I walked to the town, 
which was, as I should guess, more than two 
miles, a British officer walked at my right 
hand, and one of the French noblesse at my 
left ; the latter of which, in the action, had 
his eyebrow carried away by a glancing shot, 
but was nevertheless very merry and facetious, 
and no abuse was offered me till I came to 
the barrack yard at Montreal, where I met 
Gen. Prescott, who asked me my name, 
which I told him. 

He then asked me, whether I was that Col. 
Allen who took Ticonderoga. I told him 
I was the very man. Then he shook his 
cane over my head, calling many hard names, 
among which he frequently used the word 
Hebel, and put himself into a" great rage. I 
told him he would do well not to cane me, 
for I was not accustomed to it, and shook my 
fist at him, telling him that that was the beetle 
of mortality for him, if he offered to strike ;. 



34 NARRATIVE OF 

upon which Capt. M'CloQd of the British, 
pulled him by the skirt, and whispered to him 
(as he afterwards told me) to this import ; 
that it was inconsistent with his honor to strike 
a prisoner. He then ordered a Serjeant's 
command with fixed bayonets to come for- 
ward and kill thirteen Canadians, which were 
included in the treaty aforesaid. 

It cut me to the heart to see the Canadians 
in so hard a case, in consequence of their 
having been true to me ; they were wringing 
their hands, saying their prayers, as I con- 
cluded, and expected immediate death. I 
therefore stepped between the executioners 
and the Canadians, opened my clothes, and 
told Gen. Prescott to thrust his bayonet into 
my breast, for I was the sole cause of the 
Canadians taking up arms. 

The guard in the mean time, rolling their 
eye balls from the General to me, as though 
impatient, waiting his dread commands to 
sheath their bayonets in my heart. I could 
however, plainly discern that he was in a 
suspense and quandary about the matter. 
This gave me additional hopes of succeeding ; 
for my design was not to die, but save the 
Canadians by a finesse. The General stood 
a minute, when he made me the following re- 
ply : "/ will not execute you now , but you 



ETHAN ALLEN. 35 

shall grace a halter at Tyburn , G — d d — n 

ye.'' 

I remember I disdained his mentioning 
such a place. I was, notwithstanding, a little 
inwardly pleased with the expression, as it 
significantly conveyed to me the idea of post- 
poning the present appearance of death ; 
besides his sentence was by no means final, 
as to ''^ gracing a halter ^'^ although I had 
anxiety about it after I landed in England, as 
the reader will find in the course of this his- 
tory. General Prescott then ordered one of 
his officers to take me on board the Gaspee 
schooner of war, and confine me, hands and 
feet, in irons, which was done the same after- 
noon I was taken. 

The action continued an hour and three 
quarters by the watch, and I know not to this 
day how many of my men were killed, though 
I am certain there were but few. If I re- 
member right, seven were wounded ; one of 
them, William Stewart by name, was wounded 
by a savage with a tomahawk, after he was 
taken prisoner and disarmed, but was rescued 
by some of the generous enemy; and so far 
recovered his wounds, that he afterwards went 
with the other prisoners to England. 

Of the enemy, were killed a Major Garden, 
who had been wounded in eleven different 



36 NARRATIVE OF^ 

battles, and an eminent merchant, Patterson, 
of Montreal, and some others, but I never 
knew their whole loss, as their accounts were 
different. I am apprehensive that it is rare, 
that so much ammunition was expended and 
so little execution done by it ; though such of 
my party as stood the ground behaved with 
great fortitude, much exceeding that of the 
enemy, but were not the best of marksmen, 
and I am apprehensive were all killed or taken; 
the wounded were all put into the hospital at 
Montreal, and those that were not, were put 
on board of different vessels in the river, and 
shackled together by pairs, viz., two men 
fastened together by one handcuff, being 
closely fixed to one wrist of each of them, 
and treated with the greatest severity, nay, as 
criminals. 

I now come to the description of the irons, 
which were put on me. The handcuff was 
of a common size, and form, but my leg irons, 
I should imagine, would weigh thirty pounds ; 
the bar was eight feet long, and very substan- 
tial ; the shackles which encompassed my 
ancles, were very tight. I was told by the 
officer who put them on, that it was the king's 
plate, and I heard other of their officers say, 
that it would weigh forty weight. The irons 
were so close upon my ancles, that I could 



ETHAN ALLEN. 3/ 

not lie down in any other manner than on my 
back. I was put into the lowest and most 
wretched part of the vessel, where I got the 
favor of a chest to sit on ; the same answered 
for my bed at night, and having procured some 
little blocks of the guard, who, day and night, 
with fixed bayonets, watched over me, to lay 
under each end of the large bar of my leg 
irons, to preserve my ancles from galling, 
while I set on the chest, or lay back on the 
same, though most of the time, night and day, 
I set on it ; but at length having a desire to 
lay down on my side, which the closeness of 
the irons forbid, I desired the Captain to loosen 
them for that purpose, but was denied the 
favor. The Captain's name was Royal, who 
did not seem to be an ill-natured man ;' but 
oftentimes said, that his express orders were 
to treat me with such severity, which was 
disagreeable to his own feelings ; nor did he 
ever insult me, though many others, who came 
on board, did. One of the officers, by the 
name of Bradley, was very generous to me ; 
he would often send me victuals from his own 
table ; nor did a day fail, but that he sent me 
a good drink of grog. 

The reader is now invited back to the time 
I was put into irons. I requested the privi- 
• tege to write to General Prescott, which was 
4 



38 



NARRATIVE OF 



granted. I reminded him of the kind and 
generous manner of my treatment to the pris- 
oners I took at Ticonderoga ; the injustice 
and ungentleman-like usage, which I had met 
with from him, and demanded gentleman-like 
usage, but received no answer from him. I 
soon after wrote to General Carlton, which 
met the same success. In the meanwhile 
many of those who were permitted to see me 
were very insulting. 

I was confined in the manner I have rela- 
ted, on board the Gaspee schooner, about six 
weeks ; during which time I was obliged to 
throw out plenty of extravagant language which 
answered certain purposes, at that time, 
better than to grace a history. 

To give an instance, upon being insulted, in 
a fit of anger I twisted off a nail with my teeth, 
which I took to be a ten-penny nail ; it went 
through the mortise of the bar of my handcuff, 
and at the same time I swaggered over those 
who abused me ; particularly a Doctor Dace, 
who told me that 1 was outlawed by New 
York, and deserved death for several years 
past ; was at last fully ripened for the halter, 
and in a fair way to obtain it. 

When I challenged him, he excused him- 
self in consequence, as he said, of my being 
a criminal. But I flung such a flood of Ian- 



ETHAN ALLEN. 39 

gu%e at him that it sliocked him and the spec- 
tators, for my anger was very great. I heard 
one say, damn him, can he eat iron ? After 
that a small padlock was fixed to the handcuff 
instead of the nail ; and as they were mean- 
spirited in their treatment to me, so it appeared 
to me, that they were equally timorous and 
cowardly. 

I was sent with the prisoners taken with 
me to an armed vessel in the river, which lay 
off against Quebec, under the command of 
Capt. M'Cloud of the British, who treated 
me in a very generous and obliging manner, 
and according to my rank ; in about twenty- 
four hours I bid him farewell with regret ; 
but my good fortune still continued. The 
name of the Captain of the vessel I was put 
on board, was Littlejohn ; who, with his 
officers, behaved in a pohte, generous, and 
friendly manner. I Hved with them in the 
cabin, and fared on the best ; my irons being 
taken off, contrary to the order he had received 
from the commanding officer ; but Capt. 
Littlejohn swore that a brave man should not 
be used as a rascal on board his ship. 

Thus I found myself in possession of hap- 
piness once more, and the evils I had lately 
suffered gave n^e an uncommon relish for 
it. 



40 NARRATIVE OF 

Captain Littlejohn used to g;o to Qu|(>ec 
every day, in order to pay his respects to cer- 
tain gentlemen and ladies ; being there on a 
certain day, he happened to meet with some 
disagreeable treatment, as he imagined, from 
a Lieutenant of a man of war, and one word 
brought on another, until the Lieutenant chal- 
lenged him to a duel on the plains of Abra- 
ham. Capt. Littlejohn was a gentleman who 
entertained a high sense of honor, and could 
do no less than accept the challenge. 

At nine o'clock the next morning they were 
to fight. The Captain returned in the even- 
ing, and acquainted his Lieutenant and me 
with the affair. His Lieutenant was a high- 
blooded Scotchman as well as himself, who 
replied to his Captain that he should not want 
for a second. With this I interrupted him, 
and gave the Captain to understand, that since 
an opportunity had presented, I would be 
glad to testify my gratitude to him, by acting 
the part of a faithful second, on which he gave 
me his hand, and said that he wanted no better 
man. ^ 

Says he, I am a king's officer, and you a 
prisoner under my care ; you must therefore 
go with me to the place appointed in disguise, 
and added further, " You must engage to me, 
upon the honor of a gentleman, that whether 



ETHAN ALLEN. 41 

I d^or live, or whatever happens (provided 
you Hve) that you will return to my Lieuten- 
ant on board this ship." 

All this I solemnly engaged him. The 
combatants were to discharge each a pocket 
pistol, and then to fall on with their iron- 
hiked muckle whangers ; and one of that sort 
was allotted for me ; but some British officers 
who interposed in the morning, settled the 
controversy without fighting. 

Now having enjoyed eight or nine days' 
happiness, from the polite and generous treat- 
ment of Capt. Littlejohn and his officers, I 
was obliged to bid them farewell, parting with 
them in as friendly a manner as we had lived 
together, which, to the best of my memory, 
was the eleventh of November. When a de- 
tachment of General Arnold's little army ap- 
peared on Point Levy, opposite Quebec, who 
had performed an extraordinary march through 
a wilderness country, with design to have 
surprised the capital of Canada, I was then 
taken on board a vessel called the Adamant, 
together with the prisoners taken with me, 
and put under the power of an English mer- 
chant from London, whose name was Brook 
Watson ; a man of malicious and cruel dispo- 
sition, and who was probably excited in the 

exercise of his malevolence by a junto of 

4# 



42 NARARTIVE OP 

tories, who sailed with him to Eng^^d ; 
among whom were Colonel Guy Johnson, 
Colonel Gloss, and their attendants and asso- 
ciates, to the number of about thirty. 

All the ship's crew. Colonel Closs, in his 
personal behavior excepted, behaved towards 
the prisoners with that spirit of bitterness, 
which is the peculiar characteristic of tories, 
when they have the friends of America in their 
power, measuring their loyalty to "the English 
King by the barbarity, fraud, and deceit which 
they exercise towards the whigs. 

A small place in the vessel, enclosed with 
white oak plank, was assigned for the prison- 
ers, and for me among the rest. I should 
imagine that it was not more than twenty feet 
one way, and twentytwo the other. Into this 
place we" were all, to the number of thirty- 
four, thrust and handcuffed, two prisoners 
more being added to our number, and were 
provided with two excrement tubs. In this 
circumference we were obliged to eat and 
perform the office of Evacuation, during the 
voyage to England ; and were insulted by ev- 
ery blackguard sailor and tory on board, in 
the cruellest manner ; but what is the most 
surprising is, that not one of us died in the 
passage. 



ETHAN ALLEN. 43 

^hen I was first ordered to go into the 
filthy enclosure, through a small sort of door, 
I positively refused, and endeavored to reason 
the before-named Brook Watson out of a con- 
duct so derogatory to every sentiment of 
honor and humanity, but all to no purpose, 
ray men being forced in the den already ; and 
the rascal who had the charge of the prisoners, 
commanded me to go immediately in among 
the rest. 

He further added, that the place was good 
enough for a rebel ; that it was impertinent 
for a capital offender to talk of honor or hu- 
manity — that any thing short of a halter was 
too good for me — and that, that would be my 
portion soon after I landed in England — for 
which purpose only I was sent thither. 

About the same time a Lieutenant among 
the tories insulted me in a grievous manner, 
saying that I ought to have been executed for 
my rebellion against New York, and spit in 
my face ; upon which, though I was hand- 
cuflfed, I sprang at him with both hands, and 
knocked him partly down, But he scrambled 
along into the cabin, and I after him — there 
he got under the protection of some men with 
fixed bayonets, who were ordered to make 
ready to drive me into the place before men- 
tioned. 



44 NARRATIVE OF 

1 challenged him to fight, notwithstaHling 
the impediments that were on my hands, and 
had the exalted pleasure to see the rascal trem- 
ble for fear. His name I have forgotten, but 
Watson ordered his guard to get me into the 
place with the other prisoners, dead or alive ; 
and I had almost as leave die as do it, stand- 
ing it out till they environed me round with 
bayonets — and brutish, prejudiced, abandoned 
wretches they were, from whom I could ex- 
pect nothing but death or wounds. 

However, I told them that they were good 
honest fellows — that I could not blame them 
— that 1 was only in dispute with a calico 
merchant, who knew not how to behave to- 
wards a gentleman of the military establish- 
ment. This was spoke rather to appease 
them for my own preservation, as well as to 
treat Watson with contempt ; but still 1 found 
that they were determined to force me into 
the wretched circumstances, which their pre- 
judiced, and depraved minds had prepared for 
me. Therefore rather than die, I submitted 
to their indignities, being drove with bayonets 
into the filthy dungeon, with the other prison- 
ers, where we were denied fresh water, except 
a small allowance which was very inadequate 
to our wants — and in consequence of the 
stench of the place, each of us was soon fol- 



ETHAN ALLEN. 4'5 

lowed with a diarrhoe and fever, which oc- 
casioned an intolerable thirst. When we 
asked for water, we were most commonly, in- 
stead of obtaining it, insulted and derided — 
and to add to all the horrors of the place, it 
was so dark that we could not see each other, 
and were overspread with body lice. We 
had, notwithstanding these severities, full al- 
lowance of salt provisions, and a gill of rum 
per day — the latter of which was of the utmost 
service to us, and probaWy was the means of 
saving several of our lives. 

About forty days we existed in this man- 
ner, when the land's end of England was dis- 
covered from the mast head — soon after 
which the prisoners were taken from their 
gloomy abode, being permitted to see the 
light of the sun, and breath fresh air, which 
to us was very refreshing. The day follow- 
ing we landed at Falmouth. 

A few days before I was taken prisoner, I 
shifted my clothes, by which I happened to 
be taken in a Canadian dress, viz., a short 
fawn skin jacket, double breasted, an under- 
vest and breeches of fagathy, worsted stock- 
ings, a decent pair of shoes, two plain shirts, 
and a red worsted cap. This was all the 
clothing I had, in which I made my appear- 
ance in England. 



4G NARRATIVE OF 



When the prisoners were landed, multitudes 
of the citizens of Falmouth, excited by curi- 
osity, crowded together to see us, which was 
equally gratifying to us. I saw numbers of 
people on the top of houses, and the rising 
adjacent grounds were covered with them of 
both sexes. The throng was so great that 
the king's officers were obliged to draw their 
swords, and force a passage to Pendennis 
castle, which was near a mile from the town 
where we were closely confined, in conse- 
quence of orders from Gen. Carlton, who 
then commanded in Canada. 

The rascally Brook Watson then set out 
for London in great haste, expecting the re- 
ward of his zeal ; but the ministry received' 
him, as I have been since informed, rather ^ 
coolly — for the minority in parliament took 
advantage, arguing that the opposition of' 
America to Great Britain, was not a rebellion. 6 
If it is, (say they) why do you not execute 
Col. Allen according to law .'' But the ma- 
jority argued that I ought to be executed, and' 
that the opposition was really a rebellion — 
but that policy obliged them not to do it, 
inasmuch as the Congress had then most pris- ' 
oners in their power — so that my being sent 
to England for the purpose of being executed,' 
and necessity restraining them, was rather a^ 



ETHAN ALLEN. 47 

foil on their laws and authority, and they con- 
sequently disapproved ofmy being sent thither. 
But I never had heard the least hint of those 
debates in parliament, or of the working of 
their policy, until some time after I left Eng- 
land. 

Consequently the reader will readily con- 
ceive I was anxious about my preservation, 
knowing that I was in the power of a haughty 
and cruel nation, considered as such. There- 
fore the first proposition which I determined 
in my own mind was, that humanity and moral 
suasion would not be consulted in the deter- 
mining of my fate. And those that daily 
came in great numbers, out of curiosity to see 
me, both gentle and simple united in this, 
that I would be hanged. A gentleman from 
America, by the name of Temple, and who 
was friendly to me, just whispered me in the 
ear, and told me that bets were laid in Lon- 
don, that I would be executed — he likewise 
privately gave me a guinea, but durst say but 
little to me. 

However, agreeable to my first negative 
proposition, that moral virtue would not influ- 
ence my destiny, I had recourse to stratagem, 
which I was in hopes would move in the cir- 
cle of their policy. I requested of the com- 
mander of the castle the privilege of writing 



4S NARRATIVE OF 

to Congress, who, after consulting with an 
officer that lived in town, of a superior rank, 
permitted me to write. I wrote, in the fore 
part of the letter, a short narrative of my ill- 
treatment — but withal let them know, that 
though I was treated as a criminal in England, 
and continued in irons, together with those 
taken with me, yet it was in consequence of 
the orders which the commander of the castle 
received from Gen. Carlton— and therefore 
desired Congress to desist from matters of 
retahation, until they should know the result 
of the government at England, respecting their 
treatment towards me, and the prisoners with 
me, and govern themselves accordingly, with 
a particular request, that if retaliation should 
be found necessary, that it might be exercised 
not according to the smallness of my character 
in America, but in proportion to the import- 
ance of the cause for which I suffered. This 
is, according to my present recollection, the 
substance of the letter subscribed To the il- 
lustrious continental Cong-ress. This letter 

o 

was wrote with a view that it should be sent 
to the ministry at London, rather than to Con- 
gress, with a design to intimidate the haughty 
English government, and screen my nepk from 
the halter. 



ETHAN ALLEN. 49 

The next day the officer, from whom I 
obtained license to write, came to see me, 
and frowned on me on account of the impu- 
dence of the letter, as he phrased it, and fur- 
ther added, " Do you think that we are fools 
in England, and would send your letter to 
Congress, with instructions to retaliate on our 
own people. I have sent your letter to Lord 
North." 

This gave me inward satisfaction, though I 
rarefully concealed it with a pretended re- 
sentment, for I found I had come Yankee 
over him, and that the letter had gone to the 
identical person I designed it for, though I 
have not heard any thing of the letter since. 

My personal treatment by Lieut.. Hamilton, 
who commanded the castle, was very gener- 
ous. He sent me every day a fine breakfast 
and dinner from his own table, and a bottle of 
good wine. Another aged gentleman, whose 
name I cannot recollect, sent me a good sup- 
per. But there was no distinction in public 
support between me and the privates — we all 
lodged on a sort of Dutch bunks, in one com- 
mon apartment, and were allowed straw. 
The privates were well supplied with fresh 
prevision, and with me took effectual mea- 
sures to rid ourselves of lice. 
6 



50 NARRATIVE OF 

I could not but feel, inwardly, extremely 
anxious for my fate. This I however con- 
cealed from the prisoners, as well as from the 
enemy, who were perpetually shaking the 
halter at me. I nevertheless treated them 
with scorn and contempt ; and having sent 
my letter to the ministry, could conceive of 
nothing more in my power but to keep up my 
spirits, behave in a daring, soldier-like man- 
ner, that I might exhibit a good sample of 
American fortitude. Such a conduct I judged 
would have a more probable tendency to my 
preservation than concession and timidity. 

This, therefore, was my deportment, and 1 
had lastly determined, in my own mind, that 
if a cruel death must inevitably be my portion, 
I would face it undaunted, and though 1 greatly 
rejoice that I have returned to my country 
and friends, and to see the power and pride 
of Great Britain humbled — yet I am confident 
I could then die without the least appearance 
of dismay. 

I now clearly recollect that my mind was 
so resolved, that I would not have trembled 
or shown the least fear, as I was sensible it 
could not alter my fate, nor do more than re- 
proach my memory, make my last act despi- 
cable to my enemies, and eclipse the other 
actions of my life. For I reasoned thus, that 



ETHAN ALLEN. 51 

nothing was more common than for men to 
die, with their friends round them, weeping 
and lamenting over them, but not able to help 
them, which was in reality not different in the 
consequence of it from such a death as I was 
apprehensive of. And as death was the natural 
consequence of animal life, to which the laws 
of nature subject mankind, to be timorous and 
uneasy as to the event or manner of it, was 
inconsistent with the character of a philoso- 
pher or soldier. The cause I was engaged 
in I ever viewed worthy hazarding my life 
for, nor was I, at the most critical moments 
of trouble, sorry that I engaged in it — and as 
to the world of spirits, though I knew nothing 
of the mode or manner of it, expected never- 
theless, when I should arrive at such a world, 
that I should be as well treated as other gen- 
tlemen of my merit. 

Among the great numbers of people who 
came to the castle to see the prisoners, some 
gentlemen told me that they had come fifty 
miles on purpose to see me, and desired to 
ask me a number of questions, and to make 
[ree with me in conversation. I gave for 
answer, that I chose freedom in every sense 
of the word. Then one of them asked me 
what my occupation in life had been ^ I an- 



62 NARRATIVE OF 

svvered him, that in my younger days I had 
studied divinity, but was a conjuror by pro- 
fession. He replied that I conjured wrong 
at the time I was taken ; and I was obhged to 
own, that I mistook a figure at that time, but 
that I had conjured them out of Ticonderoga. 
This was a place of great notoriety in Eng- 
land, so that the joke seemed to go in ray 
favor. 

It was a common thing for me to be taken 
out of close confinement, into a spacious green 
in the castle, or rather parade, where numbers 
of gentlemen and ladies were ready to see and 
hear me. 

I often entertained such audiences with 
harangues on the impracticability of Great 
Britain's conquering the then colonies of 
America. At one of these times I asked a 
gentleman for a bowl of punch, and he ordered 
his servant to bring it, which he did, and 
offered it me, but I refused, to take it from the 
hand of his servant. He then gave it to me 
with his own hand, refusing to drink with me 
in consequence of my being a state criminal. 
However, I look the punch and drank it all 
down at one draught, and handed the gentle- 
man the bowl. This made the spectators as 
well as myself merry. 



ETHAN ALLEN. 53 

I expatiated on American freedom. This 
gained the resentment of .a young beardless 
gentleman of the company, who gave himself 
very great airs, and replied, that he '' knew 
the Americans very well, and was certain that 
they could not bear the smell of powder." 
I replied., that I accepted it as a challenge, 
and was ready to convince him on the spot 
that an American could bear the smell of 
powder — at which he answered that he should 
not put himself on a par with me. I then 
demanded of him to treat the character of the 
Americans with due respect. He answered 
that I was an Irishman— but I assured him 
that 1 was a full blooded Yankee, and in fine, 
bantered him so much that he left me in pos- 
session of the field, and the kugh went against 
him. Two clergymen^ came to see me, and 
inasmuch as they behaved with civility, I re- 
turned them the same. We discoursed on 
several parts of moral philosophy and Christ- 
ianity — and they seemed to be surprised that 
I should be acquainted with such topics, or 
that I should understand a syllogism or regu-i 
lar mood of argumentation. I am apprehen- 
sive my Canadian dress contributed not a lit- 
tle to the surprise, and excitement of curios- 
ity. To see a gentleman in England, regu- 
5* 



64 NARRATIVE OF 

larly dressed and well behaved, would be no 
sight at all — but such a rebel, as they were 
pleased to call me, it is probable was never 
before seen in England. 

The prisoners were landed at Falmouth a 
few clays before Christmas, and ordered on 
.board of the Solebay frigate, Capt. Symonds, 
the eighth day of January, 1776, when our 
hand irons were taken off. This remove 
was in consequence (as I have since been in- 
formed) of a, writ of habeas corpus, which 
bad been procured by some gentlemen in En- 
gland, in order to obtain me my liberty. 

The Solebay, with sundry other men of 
war, and about forty transports, rendezvoused 
at the cove of Cork in Ireland, to take in 
provision and water. 

When we were f^'st brought on board, 
Capt. Symonds ordered all the prisoners, and 
most of the hands on board, to go on deck, 
and caused to be read in their hearing a cer- 
tain code of laws, or rules for the regulation 
and ordering of their behavior ; and then in a 
sovereign manner, ordered the pnsoners, me 
in particular, off the deck, and never to come 
on it again ; for, said he, this is a place for 
gentlemen to walk. So I went off, an officer 
following me, who told me, that he would 
show me the place allotted for me, and took 



ETHAN ALLEK. 56 

me down to the cable tier, saying to me, this 
is your place. i 

Prior to this I had taken cold, by which I 
was in an ill slate of health, and did not say 
much to the officer ; but stayed there that 
night, consulted my policy, and found 1 was 
in an evil case ; that a Captain of a man of 
war was more arbitrary than a King, as he 
could view his territory with a look of his 
eye, and a movement of his finger command- 
ed obedience, — I felt myself more desponding 
than I had done at any time before ; for I 
concluded it to be a governmental scheme, to 
do that clandestinely, which policy forbid to be 
done under sanction of public justice and law. 

However, two days after I shaved and 
cleaned myself as well as I could, and went 
on deck. The Captain spoke to me in a great 
rage, and said, " Did 1 not order you not to 
come on deck ?" I answered him, that at the 
same time he said, " That it was the place 
for gentlemen to walk :" That I was Col. 
Allen, but had not been properly introduced 
to him. He repHed, " G — d damn you, Sir, 
be careful not to walk the same side of the 
deck that I do." This gave me encourage- 
ment, and ever after that I walked in the man- 
ner he had directed, except when he, at cer- 
tain times afterwards, ordered me off in a pas- 



56 NARRATIVF, OF 

sion, ; I would then directly afterwards go 
on again, telling him to command his slaves, 
that I was a gentleman, and had a right to 
walk the deck ; yet when he expressly or- 
dered me off, I obeyed, not out of obedience 
to him, but to set an example to his ship's 
crew, who ought to obey him. 

To walk to the windward side of the deck, 
is, according to custom, the prerogative of the 
Captain of the man of war, though he often- 
times, nay commonly walks with his Lieu- 
tenants, when no strangers are I^y. When a 
Captain from some other man of w^ar comes 
on board, the Captains walk to the windward 
side, and the other gentlemen to the leeward. 

It was but a few nights I lodged in the cable 
tire, before I gain{;d an acquaintance with the 
master of arms. Plis name was Gillegan, an 
Irishman, who was a generous and well dis- 
posed man, and in a friendly manner made me 
a proffer of living with him in a little birth, 
which was allotted him bctw^een decks, and 
enclosed with canvas ; his preferment on 
board was about equal to that of a serjeant in 
a regiment. I was comparatively happy in 
the acceptance of his clemency, and lived 
with him in friendship, until the fiigate an- 
chored in the harbor of Cape Fear, North 
Carolina, in America. 



ETHAN ALLEN. 57 

Nothing of material consequence happened 
until the fleet rendezvoused at the cove of 
Cork, except a violent storm which brought 
old hardy sailors to then* prayers. It was 
soon rumored in Cork that I was on board the 
Solebay, with a number of prisoners from 
America — upon which Messrs. Clarke and 
Hays, merchants in company, and a number 
of other benevolently disposed gentlemen, 
contributed largely to the relief, and support 
of the prisoners, who were thirtyfour in num- 
ber, and in very needy circumstances. A 
suit of clothes from head to foot, including an 
overcoat, or surtout, and two shirts, were be- 
stowed on each of them. My suit I received 
in superfine broadcloth, sufficient for two 
jackets, and two pair of breeches, overplus of 
a suit throughout, eight fine Holland shirts and 
socks ready made, with a number of pairs of 
silk and worsted hose, two pair of shoes, two 
beaver hats, one of which was sent me richly 
laced with gold, hf Mr. .lames Bonwell. The 
Irish gentlemen furthermore made a large 
gratuity of wines of the best sort, old spirits, 
Geneva, loaf and brown sugar, coffee, tea and 
chocolate, with a large round of pickled beef, 
and a number of fat turkies, with many other 
articles, fcr my sea stores, too tedious to men- 



58 NARRATIVE OF 

lion here. To ihe privates they bestowed to 
each man two pounds of tea, and six pounds 
of sugar. These articles were received on 
board, at a time when the Captain and first 
Lieutenant were gone on shore, by permission 
of the second Lieutenant, a handsome young 
gentleman, who was then under twenty years 
of age; his name was Douglass, the son of 
Admiral Douglass, as I have been informed. 
As this munificence was so unexpected and 
plentiful, I may add needful, it impressed on 
my mind the highest sense of gratitude towards 
my benefactors ; for I was not only supplied 
with the necessaries and conveniences of life, 
but with the grandeur and superfluities of it. 
Mr. Hays, one of the donators before n:en- 
tioned, came on board, and behaved in the 
most obliging manner, telling me that he hoped 
my troubles were past, for that the gentlemen 
of Cork determined to make my sea-stores 
equal to the Captain of the Solebay's; he 
made a proffer of live stock, and wherewith to 
support them — but I knew this would be de- 
nied. And to crown all, did send to me by 
another person fifty guineas, but I could not 
reconcile the receiving the whole to my own 
feelings, as it might have the appearance of 
avarice ; and therefore received but seven 
guineas only ; and am confident not only froni 



ETHAN ALLEN. 59 

the exercise of the present well-timed gene- 
rosity, but from a large acquaintance with gen- 
tlemen of this nation, that as a people they 
excel in liberality and bravery. 

Two days after the receipt of the aforesaid 
donations, Captain Symonds came on board, 
full of envy towards the prisoners, and swore 
by all that is good, that the damned American 
rebels should not be feasted at this rate by 
I he damned rebels of Ireland ; he therefore 
took away all my liquojs before-mentioned, 
except some of the wine which was secreted, 
and a two gallon jug of old spirits which was 
reserved for rae, per favor of Lieutenant 
Douglass. The taking my liquors was abom- 
inable in his sight ; he therefore spoke in my 
behalf, until the Captain was angry with him. 
And in consequence, proceeded and took 
away all the tea and sugar which had been 
given to the other prisoners, and confiscated 
it to the use of the ship's crew. Our clothing 
was not taken away, but the privates were 
forced to do duty on board. Soon after this 
there came a boat to the side of the ship, and 
Capt. Symonds asked a gentleman that was 
in it, in my hearing, what his business was, 
who answered that he was sent to deliver 
some sea-storesto Col. Allen, which, if I re- 
member right, he said were sent from Dublin ; 



60 NARRATIVE OF 

but the Captain damned him very heartily, 
ordered him away from the ship, and would 
not suffer him to deliver the stores. I was 
furthermore informed, that the gentlemen in 
Cork requested of Captain Symonds that I 
might be allowed to come into the city, and 
that they would be responsible I should return 
to the frigate at a given time, w^bich was de- 
nied them. 

We sailed from England the 8th day of 
January, and from the cove of Cork the 12th 
day of February. Just before we sailed, tho 
prisoners with me were divided, and put on 
board three different ships of war. This 
gave me some uneasiness, for they were to a 
man zealous in the* cause of liberty, and be- 
haved with a becoming fortitude in the various 
scenes of their captivity ; but those who were 
distributed on board other ships of war, were 
much better used than those that tarried with 
me, as appeared afterwards. When the fleet, 
consisting of about fortyfive sail, including 
fortyfive men of war, sailed from the cove 
with a fresh breeze, the appearance was beau- 
tiful, abstracted from the unjusfi and bloody 
designs they had in view. We had not sailed 
many days before a mighty storm arose, which 
lasted twentyfour hours without intermission. 
The wind blew with relentless fury, and no 



ETHAN ALLEN. 61 

man could remain on deck, except he was 
lashed fast, for the waves rolled over the deck 
by turns, with a forcible rapidity, and every 
soul on board was anxious for the preservation 
of the ship, ahas their lives. In this storm 
the Thunder-bomb mati of war sprang a leak, 
and was afterwards floated to some part of the 
coast of England, and the crew saved. We 
were then said to be in the Bay of Biscay. 
After the storm abated, I could plainly discern 
that the prisoners were 'better used for some 
considerable time. 

Nothing of consequence happened after 
this, till we had sailed to the island of Madeira, 
except a certain favor which I received of 
Captain Symonds, in consequence of an appli- 
cation I made to him, for the privilege of his 
tailor to make a suit of clothes of the cloth 
bestowed on me in Ireland, which he gener- 
ously granted. I could then walk the deck 
with a seeming better grace. When we had 
reached Madeira, and anchored, sundry gen- 
tlemen, with the Captain, went on shore, who 
I conclude, gave the rumor that I was in the 
frigate ; upon which I soon ^fter found Irish 
generosity was again excited ; for a gentleman 
of this nation sent his clerk on board, to know 
of me if I would accept a sea-store from him, 
particularly of wine. This matter I made 
6 



62 NARRATIVE OF 

known to the generous Lieut. Douglass, who 
readily granted me the favor, provided the 
.irticles could be brought on board during the 
time of his command-; adding that it would be 
a pleasure to him to serve me, notwithstanding 
the opposition he met with before. So I di- 
rected the gentleman's clerk to inform him 
that I was greatly in need of so signal a chari- 
ty, and desired the young gentleman to make 
the utmost despatch, which he did ; but in 
the mean time, Capt. Symonds and his officers 
came on board, and immediately made ready 
for sailing — the wind at the same time being 
fair, set sail when the young gentleman was in 
fair sight with the aforesaid store. 

The reader will doubtless recollect the 
seven guineas I received at the cove of Cork. 
These enabled me to purchase of the purser 
what I wanted, had not the Captain strictly 
forbid it, though I made sundry applications 
'o him for that purpose ; but his answer to 
me, when I was sick, was, that it was no mat- 
ter how soon I was dead, and that he was no 
ways anxious to preserve the lives of rebels, 
but wished them, ell dead ; and indeed that 
was the language of most of the ship's crew. 
I expostulated not only with the Captain but 
with other gentlemen on board, on the un- 
reasonableness of such usage ; inferring, that 



ETHAN ALLEN. 63^ 

inasmuch as the government in England did 
not proceed against me as a capital offender, 
they should not ; for that they were by no 
means empowered by any authority, either 
civil or military, to do so : for the English 
government had acquitted me by sending me 
back a prisoner of war to America, and that 
they should treat me as such. I further 
drew an inference of impolicy on them, pro- 
vided they should, by hard usage, destroy my 
life ; inasmuch as I might, if living, redeem 
one of their offiers ; but the Captain replied, 
that he needed no directions of mine how to 
treat a rebel ; that the British would conquer 
the American rebels, hang the Congress, and 
such as promoted the rebellion, me in par- 
ticular, and retake their own prisoners ; so 
that my life was of no consequence in the 
scale of their policy. I gave him for answer, 
that if they stayed till they conquered Amer- 
ica before they hanged me, I should die of 
old age., and desired that till such an event 
took place, he would at least allow me to pur- 
chase of the purser, for my own money, such 
articles as I greatly needed ; but he would 
not permit it, and when I reminded him of 
the generous and civil usage that their prison- 
ers in captivity in America met with, he said 
that it was not ov«ing to their goodness, but 



64 NARRATIVE OF i 

to their timidity ; for, said he, they expect to 
be conquered, and therefore dare not naisuse 
our prisoners, and in fact this was the language 
of the British officers till Gen. Burgoyne was 
taken, (happy event) and not only of the offi- 
cers, but of the whole British army. I appeal 
to my brother prisoners, that Have been with 
the British in the southern department, for a 
confirmation of what I have advanced on this 
subject. The surgeon of the Solebay, whose 
name is North, was a very humane and ob- 
liging man, and took the best care of the 
prisoners who were sick. 

The third day of May we cast anchor in 
the harbor of Cape Fear, in North Carolina, 
as did Sir Peter Parker's ship of fifty guns a 
little back of the bar, for there was no depth 
of water for him to come into the harbor. 
These two men of war and fourteen sail of 
transports and others, came after, so that most 
of the fleet rendezvoused at Cape Fear, for 
three weeks. The soldiers on board the 
transports were sickly, in consequence of so 
long a passage — add to this, the small pox 
carried off many of them : they landed on the 
main and formed a camp, but the ritlemen 
annoyed them, and caused them to move to an 
island in the harbor — but such cursing of 
riflemen I never heard. 



ETHAN ALLEN. 65 

A detachment of regulars was sent up Bruns- 
wick river ; as they landed, were fired on by 
those marksman, and they came back next 
day, damning the rebels for their unmanly way 
of fighting, and swearing that they would give 
no quarter, for they took sight at them, and 
were behind timber, skulking about. One of 
the detachments said they lost one man — but 
a negro man who was with them, and heard 
what was said, soon after told me that he 
helped to bury thirtyone of them. This did 
me some good to find my countrymen giving 
them battle — for I never heard such swagger- 
ing as among Gen. Clinton's little army, who 
commanded at that time, and I am apt to think 
there were four thousand men, though not two- 
thirds of them fit for duty. I heard numbers 
of them say, that the trees in America should 
hang well with fruit that campaign, for they 
would give no quarter. This was in the? 
mouths of most whom I heard speak on the 
subject, officer as well as soldier. 1 wished 
at that time my countrymen knew as well as I 
did what a murdering and cruel enemy they 
had to deal with ; but experience has since 
taught this country, what they are to expect 
at the hands of Britons when in their power. 

The prisoners who bad' been sent on board 
different men of war at the cove of Cork, were 
6* 



66 NARRATIVE OF 

collected together, and the whole of them put 
on board the Mercury frigate, Capt. James 
Montague, except one of the Canadians, who 
died on the passage from Ireland, and Peter 
Noble, w4io made his escape from the Sphynx 
man of war in this harbor, and by extraordi- 
nary swimming, got safe home to New Eng- 
land, and gave intelligence of the usage of his 
brother prisoners. The Mercury set sail 
from this port for Halifax, about the 20th of 
May, and Sir Peter Parker was about to sail 
with the land forces, under the command of 
Gen. Clinton, for the reduction of Charles- 
ton, the capital of South Carolina, and when 
I heard of his defeat in Halifax, it gave me 
inexpressible satisfaction. 

I now found myself under a worse Captain 
than Symonds ; for Montague was loaded 
with prejudices against every body, and every 
thing that was not stamped with royalty ; and 
being by nature underwitted, his wrath was 
heavier than the others, or at least his mind 
was in no instance liable to be diverted by 
good sense, humor or bravery, of which Sy- 
monds was by turns susceptible. A Captain 
Francis Proctor was added to our number of 
prisoners when we were first put on board 
this ship. This gentleman had formerly be- 
longed to the English service. The Captain, 



ETHAN ALLEN. 67 

and in fine all the gentlemen of the ship, were 
very much incensed against him, and put him 
in irons without the least provocation, and he 
was continued in this miserable situation about 
three months. In this passage the prisoners 
were infected with the scurvy, some more 
and some less, but most of them severely. 
The ship's crew was to a great degree trou- 
bled with it, and I concluded that it was catch- 
ing. Several of the crew died of it on their 
passage. I w^as weak and feeble in conse- 
quence of so long and cruel a captivity, yet 
had but little of the scurvy. 

The purser was again expressly forbid by 
the Captain to let me have any thing out of 
his store — upon which I went on deck, and 
in the handsomest manner requested the favor 
of purchasing a few necessaries of the purser, 
which was denied me. He further told me, 
that 1 should be hanged as soon as I arrived 
at Halifax. I tried to reason the matter with 
him, but found him proof against reason. I 
also held up his honor to view, and his be- 
havior to me and the prisoners in general, as 
being derogatory to it, but found his honor 
impenetrable. I then endeavored to touch 
his humanity, but he had none ; for his pre- 
possession of bigotry to his own party, had 
confirmed in him in an opinion that no human- 



68 NARRATIVE OF 

ity was due to unroyalists, but seemed to 
think that heaven and earth were made merely 
to gratify the King and his creatures. He 
uttered considerable unintelligible and grovel- 
ling ideas, a little tinctured with Monarchy, 
but stood well to his text of hanging me. He 
afterwards forbid his surgeon to administer ?ny 
help to the sick prisoners. I was every night 
shut down in the cable tire, with the rest of 
the prisoners, and we all lived miserable while 
under his power. But I received some gene- 
rosity from several of the midshipmen, who 
in a degree alleviated my misery. One of 
their names was Putrass, the names of the 
others I do not recollect — but they were ob- 
liged to be private in the bestowment of their 
favor, which was sometimes good wine bit- 
ters, and at others a generous drink of grog. 
Sometime in the first week of June, we 
came to anchor at the Hook off New York, 
where we remained but three days ; in which 
time Gov. Tryon, Mr. Kemp, the old At- 
torney General of New York, and several 
other perfidious and overgrown lories and 
land-jobbers came on board. Tryon viewed 
me with a stern countenance as I was walking 
on the leeward side of the deck with the mid- 
shipmen — and he and his companions were 
walking with the Captain and Lieutenant on 






ETHAN ALLEN. 69 

the windward side of the same, but never 
spoke to me, though it is ahogetlier probable 
that he thought of the old quarrel between 
him, the old government of New York, and 
the Green Mountain Boys. Then they went 
with the Captain into the cabin, and the same 
afternoon returned on board a vessel which 
lay near the Hook, where at that time they 
took sanctuary from the resentment of their 
injured country. What passed between the 
officers of the ship and these visitors 1 know 
not; but this I know, that my treatment from 
,the principal officers was more severe after- 
wards. 

We arrived at Halifax not far from the 
middle of June, where the ship's crew which 
was infested with the scurvy, were taken on 
shore, and shallow trenches dug, into which 
they were put, and partly covered with earth. 
Indeed every proper measure was taken for 
their relief. The prisoners were not permit- 
ted any sort of medicine, but were put on 
board a sloop which lay in the harbor, near 
the town of Halifax, surrounded with several 
men of war and their tenders, and a guard 
constantly set over them, night and day. The 
sloop we had wholly to ourselves, except the 
guard who occupied the forecastle ; here we 
were cruelly pinched with hunger. It seemed 



70 NARRATIVE OF 

to me that we had not more than one-third of 
the common allowance. We were all seized 
with violent hunger and faintness — we divided 
our scanty allowance as exact as possible. I 
shared the same fate with the rest, and though 
they offered me more than an even share, I 
refused to accept it, as it was a time of sub- 
stantial distress, which, in my opinion, I ought 
to partake equally with the rest, and set an 
example of virtue and fortitude to our little 
commonwealth. 

I sent letter after letter to Capt. Montague 
who still had the care of us, and also to his 
Lieutenant, whose name I cannot call to mind, 
but could obtain no answer, much less a redress 
of grievances ; and to add to the calamity, 
near a dozen of the prisoners were dangerously 
ill of the scurvy. I wrote private letters to 
the doctors, to procure, if possible, some 
remedy for the sick, but in vain. The chief 
physician came by in a boat so close that the 
oars touched the sloop we were in, and I 
uttered my complaint in the genteelest manner 
to him, but he never so much as turned his head, 
or made me any answer, though I continued 
speaking till he got out of hearing. Our cause 
then become very deplorable. Still I kept 
writing to the Captain, till he ordered the 
guards, as they told me, not to bring any more 



Jk-' J^^m 



ETHAN ALLEN. 71 

letters from me to him. In the mean time an 
event happened worth relating. One of the 
men almost dead of the scurvy, laid by the 
side of the sloop, and a canoe of Indians com- 
ing by, he purchased two quarts of strawber- 
ries, and eat them at once, and it almost cured 
him. The money he gave for them, was all 
the money he had in the world. After that 
we tried every way to procure more of that 
fruit, reasoning from analogy that they might 
have the same effect on others infected with 
the same disease, but could obtain none. 

Meanwhile the Doctor's mate of the Mer- 
cury came privately on board the prison sloop, 
and presented me with a large vial of 'smart 
drops, which proved to be good for the scurvy, 
though vegetables and some other ingredients 
were requisite for a cure ; but the drops gave 
at least a check to the disease. This was a 
well-timed exertion of humanity — but the 
doctor's name has slipped my mind — and in 
my opinion was the means of saving the lives 
of several men. 

The guard which was set over us, was by 
this time touched with the feelings of compas- 
sion ; and I finally trusted one of them with 
a letter of complaint to Governor Arbuthnot, 
of Halifax, which he found means to commu- 
nicate, and which had the desired effect — for 



72 NARRATIVE OF 

the Governor sent an officer and surgeon on 
board the prison sloop, to know the truth of 
the complaint. The officer's name was 
Russel, who held the rank of Lieutenant, and 
treated me in a friendly and polite manner, 
and was really angry at the cruel and unmanly 
usage the prisoners met with ; and with the 
surgeon made a report of matters to Governor 
Arbuthnot, who either by his order or influ- 
ence, took us next day from the prison sloop 
to Halifax gaol, where" 1 first become ac- 
quainted with the now Hon. James Lovel, 
Esq., one of the members of Congress for the 
State of Massachusetts Bay. The sick were 
taken to the hospital, and the Canadians who 
were effective, were employed in the King's 
works ; and when their countrymen were re- 
covered from the scurvy, and joined them, 
they all deserted the King's employ, and were 
not heard of at Halifax, as long as the remain- 
der of the prisoners continued thei;e, which 
was till near the middle of October. We 
were on board the prison sloop about six 
weeks, and were landed at Halifax near the 
middle of August. Several of our English 
American prisoners, who were cured of the 
scurvy at the hospital, made their escape from 
thence, and after a long time reached their 
old habitations. 



ETHAN ALLEN. 73 

I had now but thirteen with me of those 
that were taken in Canada, and remained in 
gaol with me in Hahfax, who in addition to 
to those that were imprisoned before, made 
our number about thirtjfour, who were all 
locked up in one common large room, without 
regard to rank, education, or any other accom- 
plishment, where we continued from the set- 
ting to the rising' sun ; and as sundry of them 
were infected with the gaol and other distem- 
pers, the furniture of this spacious room con- 
sisted most principally of excrement tubs. 
We petitioned for a removal of the sick into 
the hospitals, but were denied. We remon- 
strated against the ungenerous usage of being 
confined with the privates, as being contrary 
to the laws and customs of nations, and par- 
ticularly ungrateful in them, in consequence 
of the gentleman-like usage which the British 
imprisoned officers met with in America ; 
and thus we wearied ourselves, petitioning 
and remonstrating, but to no purpose at all — 
for Gen. Massey, who commanded at Halifax, 
was as inflexible as the devil himself — a fine 
preparative this for Mr. Lbvell, member of 
the continental Congress. 

Lieutenant Russel, whom 1 have mentioned 
before, came to visit me in prison, and 
assured me that he had done his utmost to 
7 



74 NARRATIVE OP 

procure my parole for enlargement — at which 
a British Captain, who was then the town- 
major, expressed compassion for the gentle- 
men confined in the filthy place, and assured 
me that he had used his influence to procure 
their enlargement; his name was near like Ram- 
sey. Among the prisoners there were five in 
number, who had a legal claim to a parole, viz. 
James Lovel, Esq. ; Capt. Francis Proctor, 
a Mr. Houland, master of a continental armed 
vessel, a Mr. Tayloj, ^is mate, and my- 
self. 

As to the article of provisions, we were well 
served, much better than in any part of my 
captivity ; and since it was Mr. Lovel's mis- 
fortune and mine to be prisoners; and in so 
wretched circumstances, 1 was happy that we 
were together, as a mutual support to each 
other, and to the unfortunate prisoners with 
us. 

I had not been in this gaol many days before 
a worthy and charitable woman, Mrs. Blacden 
by name, supplied me with a good dinner of 
fresh meats every day, with garden fruit, and 
sometimes with a bottle of wine ; notwith- 
standing which I had not been more than 
three weeks in this place before I lost all ap- 
petite to the most delicious food by the gaol 
distemper, as sundry of the prisoners, particu- 



ETHAN ALLEN. 75 

larly a Serjeant Moore, a man of courage and 
fidelity. 1 have several times seen him hold 
the boatswain of the Solebay frigate, when he 
attempted to strike him, and laughed him out 
of conceit of using him as a slave. 

A doctor visited the sick, and did the best, 
as I suppose, he could for them, to no ap- 
parent purpose. I grew weaker and weaker, 
as did the rest. Several of them could not 
help themselves. At last I reasoned in my 
own mind, that raw onion would be good. I 
made use of it, and found immediate relief by 
it, as did the sick in general, particularly ser- 
geant Moore, who it recovered almost from 
the shades. Though I had met with a little 
revival, still I found the malignant hand of 
Britain had greatly reduced my constitution 
with stroke upon stroke. Esquire Lovel and 
myself used every argument and entreaty that 
could be well conceived of in order to obtain 
gentleman-like usage, to no purpose. I then 
wrote Ceneral Massey as severe a letter as I 
possibly could, with my friend Level's assist- 
ance. The contents of it w^s to give the 
British, as a nation, and hiimas an individual, 
their true character. This roused the rascal, 
for he could not bear to see his and the na- 
tion's deformity in that transparent letter, 
which I sent him ; he therefore put himself 



■:V 



76 NARRATIVE OF 

in a great rage about it, and shewed the letter 
to a number of British officers, particularly 
to Capt. Smith of the Lark frigate, who in- 
stead of joining with him in disapprobation, 
commended the spirit of it ; upon which Gen. 
Massey said to him. Do you take the part of 
a rebel against me ? Capt. Smith answered, 
that he rather spoke his sentiments, and there 
was a dissension in an opinion between them. 
Some officers took the part of the General, 
and others of the Captain. This I was in- 
formed of by a gentleman who had it from 
Capt. Smith. 

In a few days after this the prisoners were 
ordered to go on board of a man of war, which 
was bound for New York ; but two of them 
were not able to go on board, and were left 
•at Halifax ; one died, and the other recovered. 
This was about the 12th of October, and 
soon after I had got on board, the Captain sent 
for me in particular to come on the quarter 
deck. I went, not knowing that it was Capt. 
Smith, or his ship at that time, and expected 
to meet the same rigorous usage I had com- 
monly met with^and prepared my mind ac- 
cordingly ; but when I came on deck, the 
Captain met me with his hand, welcomed .me 
to his ship, invited me to dine with him that 
day, and assured me that I should be treated 



+ ETHAN ALLEN. 77' 

as a gentleman, and that he had given orders 
that I should be treated with respect by the 
ship's crew. This was so unexpected and 
sudden a transition that it drew tears from my 
eyes — which all the ill usage I had before met 
with was not able to produce — nor could I at 
first hardly speak, but soon recovered myself, 
and expressed my gratitude for so unexpected 
a favor, and let him know that I felt anxiety 
of mind in reflecting that Lis situation and 
mine was such that it was not probable that it 
would ever be in my power to return the 
favor. Capt. Smith rephed, that he had no 
reward in view, but only treated me as a gen- 
tleman ought to be treated ; he said, this is a 
mutable world, and one gentleman never knows 
but that it may be in his power to help ano- 
ther. Soon after I found this to be the same 
Capt. Smith who took my part against Gen. 
Massey ; but he never mentioned any thing 
of it to me, and I thought it impolitic in me 
to interrogate him as to any disputes w^hich 
might have arisen between him and the Gen- 
eral on my account, as I was a prisoner, and 
that it was his option to make IVee witlt me 
on that subject, if he pleased ; and if he did 
not, I might take it for granted that it would 
be unpleasing for me to query about it, though 
I . had a strong propensity to converse with 

him on that subject, 

7* 



78 NARRATIVE OF 

I dined with the Captain agreeable to his 
invitation, and oftentimes with the Lieuten- 
ants, in the gun room, but in general eat and 
drank with my friend Lovel, and the other 
gentlemen, who were prisoners with me where 
I also slept. 

We had a little birth enclosed with canvas, 
between decks, where we enjoyed ourselves 
very well, in hopes of an exchange ; besides 
our friends at Halifax had a little notice of 
our departure, and supplied us with spirituous 
liquor, and many articles of provision for the 
coast. Captain Burk having been taken pris- 
oner, was added to our company (he had com- 
manded an American armed vessel) and was 
generously treated by the Captain and all the 
officers of the ship, as icell as myself. 

We now had in all near thirty prisoners on 
board, and as we were sailing along the coast, 
if I recollect right, off Rhode Island, Captain 
Burk. with an under officer of the ship, whose 
name I do not recollect, came to our little 
birth, proposed to kill Capt. Smith and the 
principal officers of the frigate and take it ; 
addipg that there was 35,000Z sterling in the 
same. Capt. Burk likewise averred that a 
strong party out of the ship's crew was in the 
conspiracy, and urged me and the gentlemen 
that was with me to use our influence with 



ETHAN ALLEN. 79 

the private prisoners, to execute the design, 
and take the ship, with the cash, into one of 
our own ports. 

Upon which I rephed, that we had been 
too well used on board to murder the officers ; 
that I could by no means reconcile it to my 
conscience, and that in fact it should not be 
done ; and while I was yet speaking, my 
friend Lovel confirmed what I had said, and 
fu-rther pointed out the ungratefulness of such 
an act ; that it did not fall short of murder, 
and in fine all the gentlemen in the birth, op- 
posed Capt. Burk and his colleague. But 
they strenuously urged that the conspiracy 
would be found out, and that it would cost 
them their lives, provided they did not execute 
their design. I then interposed spiritedly, 
and put an end to further arguments on the 
subject, and told them that they might depend 
upon it, upon my honor, that I would faith- 
fully guard Capt. Smith'i5 life. If they should 
attempt the assault, I would assist him, for 
they desired me to remain neuter, and that the 
same honor that guarded Capt. Smith's life, 
would also guard theirs ; and it was agreed 
by those present not to reveal the conspiracy, 
to the intent that no man should be put to 
death in consequence of what had been pro- 
jected ; and Capt. Burk and Jiis colleague 



80 NARRATIVE OF 

went to stifle the matter among their asso- 
ciates. I could not help calling to mind what 
Capt. Smith said lo me, when I first came on 
board : '^ Tliis is a mutable world ^ and one 
gentleman never knows but that it may be in 
his power to help another. ^^ Capt. Smith and 
his officers still behaved withtheir usual cour- 
tesy, and I never heard any more of the con- 
spiracy. 

We arrived before New York, and cast an- 
chor the latter part of October, where we re- 
mained several days, and where Capt. Smith 
informed me, that he had recommended me 
to Admiral Howe and General Sir William 
Howe, as a gentleman of honor and veracity, 
and desired that I might be treated as such. 
Capt. Burk was then ordered on board a 
prison-ship in the harbor. I took my leave 
of Capt. Smith, and with the other prisoners 
was sent on board a transport-ship, which lay 
in the harbor, commanded by Capt. Craige, 
who took me into the cabin with him and his 
Lieutenant. I fared as they did, and was in 
every respect well treated in consequence of 
directions from Capt. Smith. ' In a few weeks 
after this I had the happiness to part with my • 
friend Lovel, (for his sake, who the enemy 
affected to treat as a private ; he was a gen- 
tleman of merit, and liberally educated, but 



ETHAN ALLEN. 81 

had no commission ; they maligned him on 
account of his unshaken attachment to the 
cause of his country.) He was exchanged 
for Governor Philhp Skene of the British. 
I was continued in this ship till the latter part 
of November, where I contracted an acquaint- 
ance with a Captain of the British — his 
name has slipped my memory. He was what 
we may call a genteel hearty fellow. I re- 
member an expression of his over a bottle of 
wine, to this import : '' That there is great- 
ness of soul for personal friendship to subsist 
between you and me, as we are upon opposite 
sides, and may at another day be obliged to 
face each other in the field." I am confident 
that he was as faithful as any officer in the 
British army. At another sitting he offered 
to bet a dozen of wine that Fort Washington 
would be in the hanjds of the British in three 
days. I stood the bet, and would had I 
known that that would have been the case, 
and the third day afterwards we heard a pro- 
digious heavy cannonade, and that day the 
Fort was taken sure enough. Some months 
after, \yhen I was on parole, he called upon 
me with his usual humor, and mentioned the 
bet. I acknowledged I had lost it, but he 
said he did not mean to take it then, as I was 
a prisoner ; that he would another day call on 



82 NARRATIVE OF 

me, when their army came to Bennington. 
I replied that he was quite too generous, as I 
had fairly lost it ; besides the Green Mountain 
Boys would not suffer them to come to Ben- 
nington. This^ was all in good humor. * I 
should have been glad to have seen him after 
the defeat at Bennington, but did not. It was 
customary for a guard to attend the prisoners, 
which was often changed. One w^as com- 
posed of tories from Connecticut, in the vi- 
cinity of Fairfield and Green Farms. The 
Serjeant's name was Hoit. They were very 
full of their invectives against the country, 
swaggered of their loyalty to their king, and 
exclaimed bitterly against the " cowardly yan- 
kees," as they were pleased to term them, 
but finally contented themselves with saying, 
that when the country was overcome, they 
should be well rewarded for their loyalty, out 
of the estates of the whigs, which would be 
confiscated. This I found to be the general 
language of tories, after I arrived from Eng- 
land on the iVmerican coast. I heard sundry 
of them relate, that the British Generals had 
engaged them an ample reward for all their 
losses, disappointments and expenditures, out 
of the forfeited rebels estates. This language 
early taught me what to do with tories estates, 
as far as my influence can go. For it is really 



ETHAN ALLEN. 83 

a game of hazard between whig and tory. 
The whigs must inevitably have lost all. in 
consequence of the abihties of the tories, and 
their good friends the British ; and it is no 
more than right the tories should run the same 
risk, in consequence of the abilities of the 
Tyhigs. But of this more will be observed 
in the sequel of this narrative. 

Some of the last days of November, the 
prisoners were landed at New York, and I 
was admitted to parole with the other officers, 
viz. Proctor, Rowland, and Taylor. The 
privates were put into the filthy churches in 
New York, with the distressed prisoners that 
were taken at Fort Washington ; and the 
second night serjeant Roger Moore, who was 
bold and enterprising, found means to make 
his escape with every one of the remaining 
prisoners that were taken with me, except 
three who were soon after exchanged. Sd 
that out of thirtyone prisoners, who went 
with me the round exhibited in these 
sheets, two only died with the enemy, and 
three only exchanged ; one of them died after 
he came within our lines ; all the rest at dif- 
ferent times, made their escape from the 
enemy. 

I now found myself on parole, and restricted 
to the limits of the city of New York, where 



84 NARRATIVE OF 

1 soon projected means to live in some mea- 
sure agreeable to my rank, though I was des- 
titute of cash. My constitution was almost 
worn out by such a long and barbarous cap- 
tivity. The enemy gave out that 1 was crazy, 
and wholly unmanned, but my vitals held 
sound, (nor was I delirious any more than I 
have been from my youth up ; but my ex- 
treme circumstances at certain times, rendered 
it political to act in some measure the mad- 
man,) and in consequence of a regular diet and 
exercise my blood recruited, and my nerves 
in great measure recovered their former tone, 
strength and usefulness, in the course of six 
months. 

I next invite the reader to a retrospective 
sight and consideration of the doleful scene 
of inhumanity exercised by General Sir Wil- 
\^'' Ham Howe, and the army under his command, 
/ towards the prisoners taken on Long Island, 
"^ on the 27th day of August, 1776 ; sundry of 
whom were in an inhuman and barbarous man- 
ner murdered after they had surrendered their 
arms ; particularly a General Odel, (or Wood- 
hul) of the militia, who was hacked to pieces 
with cutlasses, when alive, by the light-horse- 
men, and a Captain Fellows, of the continent- 
al army, who was thrust through with a bay- 
onet, of which wound he died instantly. 



• ETHAN ALLEN. 85 

Sundry others were hanged up by the neck 
till they were dead ; five on the limb of an oak 
tree, and without any reason assigned, except 
that they were fighting in defence of the only 
blessing worth preserving. And indeed those 
who had the misfortune to fall into their hands 
at Fort Washington, in the month of Novem- 
ber following, met with but very little better 
usage, except that they were reserved from 
immediate death to fam,ish and die with hun- 
ger ; in fine the word rebel applied to any 
vanquished persons, without regard to rank, 
who were in the continental service on the 
27th of August aforesaid, was thought by the 
enemy sufficient to sanctify whatever cruelties 
they were pleased to inflict, death itself not 
excepted ; but I pass over particulars which 
would swell my narrative far beyond my de- 
sign. 

The private soldiers who were brought to 
New York were crowded into churches, and 
environed with slavish Hessian guards, a peo- 
ple of a strange language, who were sent to 
America for no other design but cruelty and 
desolation ; and at others, by merciless Brit- 
ons, whose mode of communicating ideas 
being intelligible in this country, served only 
to tantalize and insult the helpless and perish- 
ing ; but above all the hellish delight and tri- 
8 



86 NARRATIVE OF • 

umph of the tories over them, as they were 
dying by hundreds. This was too much for 
me to bear as a spectator ; for I saw the to- 
ries exulting over the dead bodies of their 
murdered countrymen. I have gone into the 
churches, and seen sundry of the prisoners in 
the agonies of death, in consequence of very 
hunger, and others speechless and near death, 
biting pieces of chips ; others pleading for 
God's sake, for something to eat, and at the 
same time shivering with the cold. Hollow 
groans saluted my ears, and despair seemed 
to be imprinted bn every one of their 
countenances. The filth in these churches, 
in consequence of the fluxes, was almost be- 
yond description. The floors were covered 
with excrements. I have carefully sought to 
direct my steps so as to avoid it, but could 
not. They would beg for God's sake for one 
copper, or morsel of bread. I have seen in 
one of these churches seven dead at the same 
time, lying among the excrements of their 
bodies. 

It was. a common practice with the enemy 
to convey the dead from their filthy places 
in carts, to be slightly buried, and I have 
seen whole gangs of tories making derision, 
and exalting over the dead, saying, there goes 
another load of damned rebels. I have ob- 



ETHAN ALLEN. 87 

served the British soldiers to be full of their 
black-guard jokes, and vaunting on those oc- 
casions, but they appeared to me less malig- 
nant than tories. 

The provision dealt out to the prisoners 
was by no means sufficient for the support of 
life. It was deficient in quantity, and much 
more so in quality. The prisoners often pre- 
sented me with a sample of their bread, which 
I certify was damaged to that degree that it was 
loathsome and unfit to be eaten, and I am bold 
to aver it, as my opinion, that it had been 
cpndemned, and was of the very worst sort. 
I have seen and been fed upon damaged bread, 
in the course of my captivity, and observed 
the quality of such bread as has been pon- 
demned by the enemy, among which was very 
little so effectually spoiled as what was dealt 
out to these prisoners. Their allowance of 
meat, as they told me, was quite trifling, and 
of the basest sort. I never saw any of it, but 
was informed, bad as it was, it was swallowed 
almost as quick as they got hold of it. I saw 
some of them sucking bones after they were 
speechless ; others who could yet speak, and 
had the use of their reason, urged me in the 
strongest and most pathetic manner, to use 
my interest in their behalf, for you plainly see, 
say they, that we are devoted to death and 



88 NARRATIVE OF 

destruction ; and after I bad examined more 
particularly into their truly deplorable condi- 
tion, and had become more fully apprized of 
the essential facts, I was persuaded that it was 
a premeditated and systematical plan of the 
British council, to destroy the youths of our 
land, with a view thereby to deter the coun- 
try, and make it submit to their despotism ; 
but that I could not do them any material ser- 
vice, and that by any public attempt for that 
purpose 1 might endanger myself by fiequent- 
ing places the most nauseous and contagious 
that could be conceived of.' 1 refrained going 
into the churches, but frequently conversed 
with such of the prisoners-as were admitted 
to come out into the yard, and found that the 
systematic usage still continued. The guard 
would often drive me away with their fixed 
bayonets. A Hessian one day followed me 
five or six rods, but by making use of my 
legs, got rid of the lubber. Sometimes I 
could obtain a little conversation, noiwith- 
standing their severities. 

J was in one of ..the church yards, and it 
was rumored among those in the church, and 
sundry of the prisoners came with their usual 
complaints to me, and among the rest a large- 
boned, tall young man, as he told me from 
Pennsylvania, who was reduced to a mere 



ETHAN ALLEN. 89 

skeleton ; said he was glad to see me before 
he died, which he had expected to have done 
last night, but was a little revived ; he further- 
more informed me, that he and his brother 
had been urged to enlist into the British, but 
had both resolved to die first ; that his brother 
had died last night, in consequence of 'that 
resolution, and that he expected shortly to 
follow him ; but I made the other prisoners 
stand a little off, and told him with a low voice 
to list ; he then asked, whether it was right 
in the sight of God ? I assured him that it 
was, and that duty to himself obliged him to 
deceive the British by enlisting, and deserting 
the first opportunity. Upon which he an-* 
swered with transport that he would list. I 
charged him not to mention my name as his 
adviser, lest it shoeld get air, and i should be 
closely confined in consequence of it. The 
integrity of these suffering prisoners is hardly 
credible. Many hundreds, I am confident, 
submitted to death, rather than enlist in the 
British service, which, I am informed, they 
most generally were pressed to do. I was 
astonished at the resolution of the two broth- 
ers particularly ; it seems that they could not 
be stimulated to such exertions of heroism 
from ambition, as they were but obscure sol- 
diers ; strong indeed must the internal princi- 
8* 



90 ' NARRATIVE OF 

pie of virtue be, which supported them to 
brave death, and one of them went through 
the operation, as did many hundred others. 
1 readily grant that instances of public virtue 
are no excitement to the sordid and vicious, 
nor on the other hand, will all the barbarity of 
Britain and Heshland awaken them to a sense 
of their duty to their public ; but these things 
will have their proper effect on the generous 
and brave. The officers on parole were most 
of them zealous, if possible, to afford the 
miserable soldiery relief, and often consulted 
with one another on the subject, but to no 
effect, being destitute of the means of subsist- 
*ence, which they needed ; nor could the 
officers project any measure which they thought 
would alter their fate, or so much as be a 
means of getting them out of those filthy places 
to the privilege of fresh air. Some projected 
that all the officers should go in procession 
to General Howe, and plead the cause of the 
perishing soldiers ; but this proposal was 
negatived for the following reasons, viz. be- 
cause that General Howe must needs be well 
acquainted and have a thorough knowledge of 
the state and condition of the prisoners in 
every of their wretched apartments, and that 
much more particular and exact than any 
officer on parole could be supposed to have, 



ETHAN ALLEN. 91 

as the General had a return of the circumstances 
of the prisoners by his own officers every 
morning, of the number which were ahve, as 
also the number which died every twentyfour 
hours, and consequently the bill of mortality, 
as collected from the daily returns, lay before 
him with all the material situations and cir- 
cumstances of the prisoners ; and provided 
the officers should go in p^cession to General 
Howe, according to the projection, it would 
give him the greatest affront, and that he 
would either retort upon them, that it was no 
part of their parole to instruct him in his con- 
duct to prisoners ; that they were mutinying 
against his authority, and by afironting him, 
had forfeited their parole ; or that more prob- 
ably, instead of saying one word to them, 
would order them all into as wretched a con- 
finement as the soldiers whom they sought to 
relieve ; for at that time, the British, from 
the General to the private sentinel, were in 
full confidence, i>or did they so much as hesi- 
tate but that they should conquer the country. 
Thus the consultation of the officers was con- 
founded and broken to pieces, in consequence 
of the dread which at that time lay on their 
minds, of offending Gen. Howe ; for they 
conceived so murderous a tyrant would not 
be too good to destroy even the officers, on ' 



KRP>fl»lL 



92 NARRATIVE OF 

the least pretence of an affront, as they were 
equally in his power with the soldiers ; and 
as General Howe perfectly understood the 
condition of the private soldiers, it was argued 
that it was exactly such as he and his council 
had devised, and as he meant to destroy them 
it would be to no purpose for them to try 
to dissuade him from it, as they were helpless 
and liable to the s^e fate, on giving the least 
affront ; indeed anxious apprehensions dis- 
turbed thdm in their then circumstances. 

Meantime mortality raged to such an in- 
tolerable degree among the prisoners, that the 
very school boys in the streets knew the men- 
tal design of it in some measure ; at least they 
knew that they were starved to death. Some 
poor women contributed to their necessity, 
till their children were almost starved, and all 
persons of common understanding knew that 
they were devoted to the crudest and worst 
of deaths. It was also proposed by some 
to make a written representation of the con- 
dition of the soldiery, and the officers to sign 
it, and that it should be couched in such terms 
as though they were apprehensive that the 
General was imposed upon by his officers, in 
their daily returns to him of the state and con- 
dition of the prisoners ; and that therefore 



ETHAN ALLEN. 93 

the officers moved with compassion, were con- 
strained to communicate to him the facts re- 
lative to them, nothing doubting but that they 
would meet with a speedy redress ; but this 
proposal was most generally negatived ; also, 
and for much the same reason offered in the 
other case ; for it was conjectured that Gen- 
ral Howe's indignation would be moved 
against such officers as should attempt to whip 
him over his officers' backs. That he would 
discern that himself was really struck at, and 
not the officers who made the daily returns ; 
and therefore self-preservation deterred the 
officers from either petitioning or remonstra- 
ting to General Howe, either verbally or in 
writing ; as also the consideration that no val- 
uable purpose to the distressed would be ob* 
tained. 

I made several rough drafts on the subject, 
one of which I exhibited to Colonels Magaw, 
Miles and Atlee, and said that they would 
consider the matter ; soon after I called on 
them, and some of the gentlemen informed 
me that they had wrote to the General on the 
subject, and I concluded that the gentlemen 
thought it best that they should write without 
me, as there was such spirited aversion sub- 
sisting between the British and me. 



94 NARRATIVE OF 

In the mean time Colonel Hussecker, of 
the continental army, as he then reported, 
was taken prisoner, and brought to New 
York, who gave out that the country was most 
universally submitting to the English king's 
authority, and 'that there would be little or no 
more opposition to Great Britain. This at 
first gave the officers a little shock, but in a 
few days they recovered themselves ; for this 
Colonel Hussecker being a German, was 
feasting with General De Heister, his coun- 
trymen, and from his conduct they were ap- 
prehensive that he was a knave ; at least he 
was esteemed so by most of the officers ; it 
was nevertheless a day of trouble. The ene- 
my blasphemed. Our little army was re- 
treating in New Jersey, and our young men 
murdered by hundreds in New York. The 
army of Britain and Heshland prevailed for a 
little season, as though it was ordered by 
Heaven to shew lo the latest posterity what 
the British would have done if they could, 
and what the general calamity must have been, 
in consequence of their conquering the coun- 
try, and to excite every honest man to stand 
forth in the defence of liberty, and to establish 
the independencey of the United States of 
America forever. But this scene of adverse 
fortune did not discourage a Washington. 



ETHAN ALLEN. 95 

The illustrious American here remained im- 
movable. In liberty's cause he took up his 
sword. This reflection was his support and 
consolation in the day of his humiliation, when 
he retreated Before the enemy, through New 
Jersey into Pennsylvania. Their triumph 
only roused his indignation, and the important 
cause of his country, which lay near his heart, 
moved him to cross the Delaware again, and 
take ample satisfaction on his pursuers. No 
sooner had he circumvallated his haughty foes 
and appeared in terrible array but the host of 
Heshland fell. This taught America the in- 
trinsic worth of perseverance, and the gener- 
ous sons of freedom flew to the standard of 
their common safeguard and defence ; from 
which time the arm of American liberty hath 
prevailed. 

This surprise and capture of the Hessians 
enraged the enemy, who were still vastly more 
numerous thnn the continental troops. They 
therefore collected, and marched from Prince- 
ton, to attack General Washington, who was 
then at Trenton, having previously left a de- 
tachment from their main body at Princeton, 
for the support of that » place. This was a 
trying time, for our worthy General, though 
in possession of a late most astonishing vic- 
tory, was by no means able to withstand the 



96 NARRATIVE OF 

collective force of the enemy ; but his sagacity- 
soon suggested a stratagem to effect that which 
by force to him was at that time impractica- 
ble. He therefore amused the enemy' with a 
number of fires, and in the night made a forced 
march, undiscovered by them, and next morn- 
ing fell in with their rear guard at Princeton, 
and killed and took most of them prisoners. 
The main body too late perceiving their rear 
was attacked, hurried back with all speed, 
but to their mortification found they were 
out generalled and baffled by General Wash- 
ington, vi^ho was retired with his little. army 
towards Morristown, and was out of their 
power. These repeated successes, one on 
the back of the other, chagrined the enemy 
prodigiously, and had an amazing operation 
in the scale of American politics, and un- 
doubtedly was one of the corner-stones on 
which their fair structure of Independency 
has been fabricated ; for the country at no 
one time has ever been so much dispirited,.as 
just before the morning of this glorious suc- 
cess, which in part dispelled the gloomy 
clouds of oppression and slavery, which lay 
pending over America, big with the ruin of 
this and future generations, and enlightened 
and spirited her sons to redouble their blows 
on a merciless and haughty, and I may add a 
perfidious enemy. 



ETHAN ALLEN. * 97 

Furthermore, this success had a mighty 
effect on General Howe and his council, and 
roused them to a sense of their own weak- 
ness, and convinced them that they were 
neither omniscient or omnipotent. Their 
obduracy and death-designing malevolence in 
some measure, abated or was suspended. 
The prisoners who were condemned to the 
most wretched and cruellest of deaths, and 
who survived to this period, though most of 
them died before, were immediately ordered 
to be sent within General Washington's lines 
for an exchange, and in consequence of it, 
were taken out of their filthy and poisonous 
places of confinement, and sent out of New 
York to their friends in haste ; several of 
them fell dead in the streets of New York, 
as they attempted to walk to the vessels in 
the harbor, for their intended embarkation. 
What numbers lived to reach the lines I can- 
not ascertain, but from concurrent representa- 
tions which I have since received from num- 
bers of people who lived in, and adjacent to, 
such parts of the country where they were 
received from the enemy, I apprehend that 
most of them died in consequence of the vile 
usage of the enemy. Some who were eye 
witnesses of that scene of mortality, more 
especially in that part which continued after 
9 



98 • NARRATIVE OF 

the exchange took place, are of opinion that 
it was partly inconsequence of a slow poison ; 
but this I refer to the doctors that attended 
them who are, certainly the best judges. 

Upon the best calculation I have been able 
to make from personal knowledge, and the 
many evidences I have collected in support 
of the facts, I learn that the prisoners taken 
on Long Island, Fort Washington, and some 
few others, at different times and places, about 
two thousand perished with hunger, cold and 
sickness, occasioned by the filth of their 
prisons, at New York, and a number more 
on their passage to the continental lines ; most 
of the residue who reached their friends, 
having received their death wound, could not 
be restored by the assistance of physicians 
and friends ; but like their brother prisoners, 
fell a sacrifice to the relentless and scientific 
barbarity of Britain. I took as much pains 
as my circumstances would admit of, to in- 
form myself not only of matters of fad, but 
likewise of the very design and aims of Gen- 
eral Howe and his council. The latter of 
which I predicated on the former, and submit 
it to the candid public. 

And lastly, the aforesaid success of the 
American arms had a happy effect on the con- 
tinental officers, who were on parole at New 



ETHAN ALLEN. " 99 

York. A number of us assembled, but not 
in a public manner, and with full bowls and 
glasses, drank General Washington's health, 
and were not unmindful of Congress and our 
worthy friends on the continent, and almost 
forgot that we were prisoners. 

A few days after this recreation, a British 
officer of rank and importance in their army, 
(whose name I shall not mention in this narra- 
tive, for certain reasons, though I have men- 
tioned it to some of my close friends and Con- 
fidents,) sent for me to his lodgings, and told 
me, "That faithfulness, though in a wrong 
cause, had nevertheless recommendecf me to 
General Sir William Howe, who was minded 
to make me a Colonel of a regiment of new 
levies, alias tories, in the British service, and 
proposed that I should go with him and some 
other officers, to England, who would embark 
for that purpose in a few days, and there be 
introduced to Lord George Germaine, and 
probably to the King ; and that previously 
I should be clothed equal to such an introduc- 
tion, and instead of paper rags, be paid in 
hard guineas ; after this should embark with 
General Burgoyne, and assist in the reduc- 
tion of the country, which infallibly would be 
conquered, and when that should be done, I 
should have a large tract of land, whether on 



100 NARRATIVE OF 

the New Hampshire grants, or in Connecti- 
cut, it would make no odds, as the country 
would be forfeited to the crown." I then 
replied, ^^ That if by faithfulness I had re- 
commended myself to General Howe, I should 
be loth, by unfaithfulness, to lose the Gener- 
al's good opinion ; besides that I viewed the 
offer of land to be similar to that which the 
devil offered Jesus Christ, To give him all 
the kingdoms of the world, if he would fall 
dovm and worship him ; when at the same 
time that the damned fool had not one foot 
of land upon earth." This closed the con- 
versation, and the gentleman turned from me 
with an air of dislike, saying that I was a 
bigot ! upon which I retired to my lodgings. 
Near the last of November I was admitted 
to parole in New York, with many other 
American officers, and on the 22d day of 
January, 1777, was with them directed by 
the British commissary of prisoners to be 
quartered on the westerly part of Long Island, 
and our parole continued. During my im- 
prisonment there, no occurrences wordi ob- 
servation happened. I obtained the means of 
living as well as I desired, which in great 
measure repaired my constitution, which had 
been greatly ^injured by the severities of an 
inhuman captivity. I now began to Teel my- 



ETHAN ALLEN. 101 

• ^elf composed, expecting either an exchange 
or continuance in good and honorable treat- 
ment ; but alas ! my visionary expectations 
soon vanished. The news of the conquest of 
Ticonderoga by General Burgoyne, and the 
advance of his army into the country, made 

fthe haughty Britons again to feel their im- 
portance, and with that their insatiable thirst 
for cruelty. 

The private prisoners at New York, and 
some of the officers on parole, felt the severity 
of it. Burgoyne was their toast and demi- 

*god. To him they paid adoration. In him 
the tories placed their confidence, '* and for- 
got the Lord their God," and served Howe, 
Burgoyne and Knyphausen,* and becanie vile 
in their pwn imaginations, and their foolish 
hearts were darkened, professing to be great 
politicians, and relying on foreign and merci- 
less invaders, and with them seeking the ruin, 
bloodshed and destruction of their country, 
'' became fools," expecting with them to share 
a dividend in the confiscated estates of their 
neighbors and countrymen who fought for the 
whole country, and the religion and liberties 
thereof. " Therefore God gave them over 
to strong delusions, to believe a l,ie, that they 
all might be damned." 

**KNyPHAusEN, fi H ssian General. 
9* 



102' NARRATIVE OF 

The 25th day of August I was apprehend- 
ed, and under pretext of artful, mean and piti- 
ful pretences, that I had infringed on my pa- 
role, taken from a tavern, where there were 
more than a dozen officers present, and in the 
very place where those officers and myself 
were directed to be quartered, put under a 
strong guard, and taken to New York, where 
I expected to make my defence before the 
commanding officer ; but contrary to my ex- 
pectations, and without the least sohd pretence 
of justice or a trial, was again encircled with 
a strong guard with fixed bayonets, and con- 
ducted to the provost gaol in a lonely apart- 
ment, next above the dungeon, and was de- 
nied all manner of subsistence either by pur- 
chase or allowance. The second day I of- 
fered a guinea for a meal of victuals, but was 
denied it, and the third day I offered eight 
Spanish milled dollars for a like favor, but 
was denied, and all that 1 could get out of the 
Serjeant's mouth, was, that by God he would 
obey his orders. I now perceived myself to 
be again in substantial trouble. In this con- 
dition I formed an oblique acquaintance with 
a Capt. Travis, of Virginia, who was in the 
dungeon below me, through a little hole which 
was cut with a penknife, through the floor of 
my apartment which communicated with the 



ETHAN ALLEN. 103 

dungeon; it was a small crevice, through 
which J could discern but a very small part 
of his face at once, when he plied it to the 
hole ; but from the discovery of him in the 
situation which we were both then in, T could 
not have known him, (which I found to be 
true by an after acquaintance.) I could nev- 
ertheless hold a covQrsation with him, and 
soon perceived him to be a gentleman of high 
spirits, who had a high sense of honor, and 
felt as big as though he had been in a palace, 
and had treasures of wrath in store against the 
British. In fine I was charmed with the 
spirit of the man ; he had been near or quite 
four months in that dungeon, with murderers, 
thieves, and every species of criminals, and 
air for the sole crime of unshaken fidelity to 
his country ; but his spirits were above de- 
jection, and his mind unchanageable. I en- 
gaged to do him every service in my power, 
and in a few weeks afterwards, with the united 
petitions of the officers in the provost, pro- 
cured his dismission from the dark mansion 
of fiends to the apartment of his petitioners. 
And it came to pass on the third day, at 
the going down of the sun, that I was pre- 
sented with a piece of boiled pork, and some 
biscuit, which the sergeant gave me to under- 
stand was my allowance, and I fed sweetly on 



104 NARRATIVE OF 

the same ; but I indulged my appetite by de- 
grees, and in a few days more was taken from 
that apartment, and conducted to the next 
loft or story, where there was about twenty 
continental and some militia officers who had 
been taken and imprisoned there, besides some 
private gentlemen who had been dragged from 
their own homes to that filthy place, by tories. 
Several of every denomination died there, 
some before, and others after I was put there. 

The history of the proceedings relative to 
the provost only, was I particular, would swell 
a volume larger than this whole narrative ! 
Shall therefore only notice such of the occur- 
rences which are most extraordinary. 

Captain Vandyke bore with an uncommon 
fortitude near twenty months' confinemerit in 
this place, and in the mean time was very 
serviceable to others who were confined with 
him. The allegation against him, as the cause 
of his confinement, was very extraordinary. 
He was accused of setting fire to the city of 
New York, (at the time the west part of it' was 
consumed) when it was a known fact that he 
had been in the provost a week before the 
fire broke out ; and in like manner, frivolous 
were the ostensible accusations against most 
of those who were there confined ; the case 
of two militia officers excepted, who were 



ETHAN ALLEN. 105 

taken in their attempting to escape from their 
parole ; and probably there may be some other 
instances which might justify such a confine- 
ment. 

Mr. WilHam Miller, a committee man, 
from Westchester county, and State of New 
York, was taken from his bed in the dead of 
night, by his tory neighbors, and was starved 
for three days and nights in a department of 
the same gaol ; and to this the denial of fire, 
and that in a cold season of the year, in which 
time he walked day and night, to defend him- 
self against the frost, and when he complained 
of such a reprehensible conduct, the word 
rebel or committee man was deemed by the 
enemy a sufficient atonement for any inhuman- 
ity that they could invent or inflict. He was 
a man of good natural understanding, a close 
and sincere friend to the liberties of America, 
and endured fourteen months' cruel imprison- 
ment with that magnanimity of soul, which 
reflects honor on himself and country. 

Major Levi Wells and Captain Ozias Bissel 
were apprehended and taken under guard from 
their parole on Long Island to the provost, 
on as fallacious pretepces as the former, and 
where they continued till their exchange took 
place, which was near five months. Their 
fidelity and zealous attachment to their coun- 



106 NARRATIVE OF 

try's cause, which was more than commonly 
conspicuous was undoubtedly the* real cause 
of their confinement. 

Major Brinton Payne, Capt. Flahaven, and 
Capt. Randolph, who had at different times 
distinguished' themselves by their bravery, 
especially at the several actions in which they 
were taken, was all the provocation they gave 
for which they suffered about a year's con- 
finement each in the same filthy gaol. 

A few weeks after my confinement, on the 
like fallacious and wicked pretences, was 
brought to the same place, from his parole on 
Long Island, Major Otho Holland Williams, 
(now a full Colonel in the continental army.) 
In his character are united the gentleman, 
officer, soldier and friend ; he walked through 
the prison with an air of great disdain ; said 
he, " Is this the treatment which gentlemen 
of the continental army are to expect from the 
rascally British, when in their power ? 
Heavens forbid it !" He was continued 
there about five months, and then exchanged 
for a British Major. 

John Fell, Esq., now a member of Con- 
gress for the State of New Jersey, was taken 
from his own house by a gang of infamous 
lories, and by order of a British General was 



ETHAN ALLEN. 107 

sent to the provost, where he was continued 
near one year. The stench of the gaol, which 
was very loathsome and unhealthy, occasioned 
a hoarseness of the lungs, which proved fatal 
to many who were there confined, and re- 
duced this gentleman near to the point of death; 
he was indeed given over by his friends who 
were about him, and himself concluded he 
must die. I could not endure the thought 
that so worthy a friend to America should 
have his life stole from him in such a mean, 
base, and scandalous a manner, and that his 
family and friends should be bereaved of so 
great and desirable a blessing, as his further 
care, usefulness and examples, might prove to 
them. I therefore wrote a letter to General 
Robertson, who commanded in town, and 
being touched with the most sensible feelings 
of humanity, which dictated my pen to paint 
dying distress in such lively colors that it 
wrought conviction even on the obduracy of 
a British General, and produced his order to 
remove the now honorable John Fell, Esq., 
out of gaol to private lodgings in town ; in 
consequence of which he slowly recovered 
his health. There is so extraordinary a cir- 
cumstance which intervened, concerning this 
letter, that it is worth noticing. 



108 ETHAN ALLEN. 

Previous to the sending It, I exliibited the 
same to the gentleman on whose behalf it was 
wrote, for his approbation, and he forbid rae 
to send it in the most positive and explicit 
terms ; his reason was, " That the enemy- 
knew by every morning's report, the condi- 
tion of all the prisoners, mine in particular, 
as 1 have been gradually coming to my end 
for a considerable time, and they very well 
knew it, and likewise determined it should be 
accomplished, as they had served many others; 
that to ask a favor would give the merciless 
enemy occasion to triumph over me in my 
last moments, and therefore 1 will ask no 
favors from them, but resign myself to my 
supposed fate." But the letter I sent with- 
out his knowledge, and I confess I had but 
little expectations from it, yet could not be 
easy till I had sent it. It may be worth a 
remark, that this gentleman was an English- 
man born, and from the beginning of the revo- 
lution has invariably asserted and maintained 
the cause of liberty. 

The British have made so extensive an 
improvement of the provost during the present 
revolution till of late, that a very short defini- 
tion will be sufficient for the dullest appre- 
hensions. It may be with propriety called 
the British inquisition, and calculated to sup- 



ETHAN ALLEN, 



109 



port iheir oppressive measures and designs, 
by suppressing the spirit of liberty ; as also a 
place to confine the crinriinals, and most in- 
fennous wretches of their own army, where 
many gentlemen of the American army, and 
citizens thereof, were promiscuously confined, 
with every species of criminals ; but they di- 
vided into different compartments, and kept 
at as great a remove as circumstances permit- 
ted, but it was nevertheless at the option of a 
villainous sergeant who had the charge of the 
provost, to take any gentlemen from their 
room, and put them into the dungeon, which 
was often the case. At two different times 
I was taken down stairs for that purpose 
by a file of soldiers with fixed bayonets, and 
the sergeant brandishing his sword at the same 
time, and having been brought to the door of 
the dungeon, I there flattered the vanity of 
the sergeant, whose name was Keaf, by which 
means I procured the surprising favor to re- 
turn to my companions ; but some of the high 
mettled young gentlemen could not bear his 
insolence, and determined to keep at a dis- 
tance, and neither please or displease the 
villain, but none could keep clear of his abuse; 
however mild measures were the best ; he did 
not hesitate* to call us damned rebels, and use 
U3 with the coarsest language. The Captains 
10 



no NARRATIVE OF 

Flahaven, Randolph and Mercer, were the 
objects of his most flagrant and repeated 
abuses, who were many times taken to the 
dungeon, and there continued at his pleasure. 
Captain Flahaven took cold in the dungeon, 
and was in a declining state of health, but an 
exchange delivered him, and in all probability 
saved his life. It was very mortifying to bear 
with the insolence of such a vicious and ill- 
bred, imperious rascal . Remonstrances against 
him were preferred to the commander of the 
town, but no relief could be obtained, fowhis 
superiors were undoubtedly well pleased with 
his abusive conduct to the gentlemen, under 
the severities of his power, and remonstrating 
against his infernal conduct, only served to 
confirm him in authority, and for this reason 
I never made any remonstrances' on the sub- 
ject, but only flattered him, for I knew that 
he was but a cat's paw in the hands of the 
British officers, and that if he should use us 
well, he would immediately be put out of that 
trust, and a worse man appointed to succeed 
him ; but there was no need of making any 
new appointment, for Cunningham, their pro- 
vost marshal, and Keaf, his deputy, were as 
great rascals as their army could boast of, 
except one Joshua Loring, an infamous tory, 
who was Commissary of prisoners, nor can 



ETHAN ALLtN. Ill 

any of those be supposed to be equally crim" 
inal with General Sir William Howe and his 
associates, who prescribed and directed the 
murders and cruelties which were by them 
perpetrated. This Loring is a monster ! 
There is not his hke in human shape. He 
exhibits a smiling countenance, seems to wear 
a phiz of humanity, but has been instrument- 
ally capable of the most consummate acts of 
wickedness, (which were firstly projected by 
an abandoned British council, clothed with 
the authority of a Howe) murdering premed- 
itately in cold blood near or quite one thousand 
helpless prisoners, and that in the most clan- 
destine, mean and shameful manner, at New 
York. He is the most mean spirited, cow- 
ardly, deceitful and destructive animal in God's 
creation below, and legions of infernal devils, 
with all their tremendous horrors, are impa- 
tiently ready to receive Howe and him, with 
all their detestable accomplices, into the most 
exquisite agonies of the hottest region of hell 
fire. 

The sixth day of July, 1777, Gen. St. 
Clair, and the army under his command, 
evacuated Ticonderoga, and retreated with 
the main body through Hubberdton into 
Castleton, which was but six miles distance, 
when his rear-guard commanded by Col. Seth 



•112 NARRATIVE OF 

Warner, was attacked at Hubberdton by a 
body of the enemy of about two thousand 
commanded by Gen. Fraser. Warner's com- 
mand consisted of his own and two other 
regiments, viz. Francis's and Hale's, and 
some scattering and enfeebled soldiers. His 
whole number, according to information, was 
near or quite one thousand ; part of which 
were Green Mountain Boys ; about seven 
hundred out of the whole he brought into 
action. The enemy advanced boldly, and 
the two bodies formed within about sixty 
yards of each other. Col. Warner having 
formed his own regiment, and that of Col. 
Francis's, did not wait for the enemy, but 
gave them a hearty fire from his whole hne, 
and they returned it with great bravery. It 
was by this time dangerous for those of both 
parties, who were not prepared for the world 
to come; but Col. Hale being apprised of the 
danger, never brought his regiment to the 
charge, but left Warner and Francis to stand 
the blowing of it, and fled, but luckily fell in 
with an inconsiderable number of the enemy, 
and to his eternal shame, surrendered himself 
a prisoner. 

The conflict was very bloody. Col. Fran- 
cis fell in the same, but Col. Warner, and the 
officers under his command, as also the sol- 



ETHAN ALLEN. 113 

diery, behaved with great resolution. The 
enemy broke, and gave way on the right and 
left, but formed again and renewed the attack ; 
in the mean time the British grenadiers, in the 
centre of the enemy's- line, maintained the 
ground, and finally carried it with the point 
of the bayonet, and Warner retreated with re- 
luctance. Our loss was about thirty men 
killed, and that of the enemy amounted to 
three hundred killed, including a Major Grant. 
The enemy's loss I learnt from the confession 
of their own officers, when a prisoner with 
them. I heard them likewise complain that 
the Green Mountain Boys took sight. The 
next movement of the enemy, of any material 
consequence, was their investing Bennington, 
with a design to demolish it, and subject its« 
Mountaineers, to which they had a great aver- 
sion, with fifteen hundred chosen men, includ- 
ing tories, with the highest expectation of suc- 
cess, and having chosen an eminence of strong 
ground, fortified it with slight breast workS) 
and two pieces of cannon; but the govern- 
ment of the young State of Vermont, being 
previously jealous of such an attempt of the 
enemy, and in due time had procured a num- 
ber of brave militia from the government of 
the State of New Hampshire, who together 
with the militia of the north part of Berkshire 
10* 



114 NARRATIVE OF 

county, and State of Massachusetts, and the 
Green Mountain Boys, constituted a body of 
desperadoes, under the command of the in- 
trepid General Stark, who in number were 
about equal to the enemy. Colonel Herrick, 
who commanded the Green Mountain Rangers, 
and who was second in command, being thor- 
oughly acquainted with the ground where the 
enemy had fortified, proposed to attack them 
in their works upon all parts, at the same time. 
This plan being adopted by the General and 
his council of war, the little militia brigade of 
undisciplined heroes, with their long brown 
firelocks, (the best security of a free people,) 
without either cannon or bayonets, was, on the 
16th day of August, led on to the attack by 
their bold commanders, in the face of the ene- 
my's dreadful fire, (and to the astonishment of 
the world, and burlesque of disciphne) carried 
every part of their lines in less than one quar- 
ter of an hour after the attack became general, 
took their cannon, killed and captivated more 
than two thirds of their number, which im- 
mortalized General Stark, and made Benning- 
ton famous to posterity. 

Among the enemy's slain was found Colonel 
Baura, their commander, a Colonel Pfejter, 
who headed an infamous gang of tories, and a 
large part of his command ; and among the 



1 



ETHAN ALLEN. 115 

prisoners was Major Meibome, their second 
in command, a number of British and Hessian 
officers, surgeons, &c., and more than one 
hundred of the afore-m^ntioned Pfester's com- 
mand. The prisoners being collected togeth- 
er, were sent to the meeting-house in the 
town, by a strong guard, and General Stark, 
not imagining any present danger, the militia 
scattered from him to rest and refresh them- 
selves ; in this situation he was on a sudden 
iattacked by a reinforcement of eleven hundred 
of the enemy, commanded by a Governor 
Skene, with two field pieces. They advanced 
in regular order, and kept up an incessant fire, 
especially from their field pieces, and the re- 
maining militia retreating slowly before them, 
disputed the ground inch by inch. The ene- 
my were heard to halloo to them, saying, 
*' stop Yankies.*' 

In the mean time Colonel Warner, with 
about one hundred and thirty men of his regi- 
ment, (who were not in the first action) arrived 
and attacked the enemy with great fury (being 
determined to have ample revenge on account 
of the late quarrel at Hubberdton) which 
brouglu them to a stand, and soon after Gen. 
Stark and Col. Herrick brought on more of 
the scattered militia, and the action became 
general ; in a few minutes the enemy were 
forced from their cannon, gave way on all 



116 NARRATIVE OP 

parts and fled, and the shouts of victory were 
a second time proclaimed in favor of the 
militia. The enemy's loss in killed and pris- 
oners, in these two actions, amounted to more 
than twelve hnndred men, and our loss did 
not exceed fifty men. This was a bitter stroke 
to the enemy, but their pride would not per- 
mit them to hesitate but that they could van- 
quish the country, and as a specimen of their 
arrogancy, I shall insert General Burgoyne's 

PROCLAMATION. 

"By John Burgoyne, Esquire^ Lieutenant- 
General of his Majesty'' s armies in America, 
Colonel of the Queen's regiment of light 
dragoons, Governor of Fort William in 
Jforth Britain, one of the Representatives 
of the Commons of Great Britain in Par- 
liament, and commanding an army and 
fleet employed on an expedition from Can- 
ada, ^c. ^c. ^c. 

'' The forces entrusted to my command 
are designed to act in concert and upon a com- 
mon principle, with the numerous armies and 
fleets which already display in every quarter 
of America, the power, the justice, and when 
properly sought, the mercy of the king. 

'' The cause in which the British arms are 
thus exerted, applies to the most affecting in- 
terests of the human heart ; and the military 



ETHAN ALLEN. 117 

servants of the crown, at first called forth for 
the purpose of restoring the rights of the con- 
stitution, now combine with love of their 
country, and duty to their sovereign, the other 
extensive incitements which spring from a due 
sense of the general privileges of mankind. 
To the eyes and ears of the temperate part of 
the pubhc, and to the breasts of suffering thou- 
sands in the provinces, be the melancholy ap- 
peal, whether the present unnatural rebellion 
has not been made a foundation for the 
complelest system of tyranny that ever God 
in his displeasure, suffered for a time to be 
exercised over a froward and stubborn gener- 
ation. 

" Arbitrary Imprisonment, confiscation of 
property, persecution and torture, unprece- 
dented in the inquisitions of the Romish church, 
are among the palpable enormities that verify 
the affirmative. These are inflicted by as- 
semblies and committees, who dare to profess 
themselves friends to liberty, upon the most 
quiet subjects, without distinction of age or 
sex, for the sole crime, often for the sole sus- 
picion, of having adhered in principle to the 
government under which they were born, and 
to which by every tie, divine and human, they 
owe allegiance. To consummate these shock- 
ing proceedings, the profanation of religion is 
added to the most profligate prostitution of 



lis NARRATIVE OF 

common reason ; the consciences of men are 
set at nought ; and multitudes are compelled 
not only to bear arms, but also to swear sub- 
jection to an usurpation they abhor. 

'' Animated by these considerations ; at the 
head of troops in the full powers of health, 
discipline, ^nd valor ; determined to strike 
where necessary, and anxious to spare where 
possible. I by these presents invite and exhort 
all persons, in all places where the progress 
of this army may point, — and by the blessing 
of God I will extend it far, — to maintain such 
a conduct as may justify me in protecting their 
lands, habitations and families. The intention 
of this address is to hold forth security, not 
depredation to the country. To those whom 
spirit and principle may induce to partake the 
glorious task of redeeming their countrymen 
from dungeons, and re-establishing the bless- 
ings of legal government, I offer encourage- 
ment and employment ; and upon the first in- 
telligence of their associations, I will find 
means to assist their undertakings. The do- 
mestic, the industrious, the infirm, and even 
the timid inhabitants, I am desirous to protect, 
provided they remain quietly at their houses ; 
that they do not suffer their cattle to be re- 
moved, nor their corn or forage to be secreted 
or destroyed ; that they do not break up their 
bridges or roads ; nor by any other act, di- 



ETHAN ALLEN. 119 

i^ctly or indirectly, endeavor to obstruct the 
operations of the king's troops, or supply or 
assist those of the enemy. Every species of 
provision brought to my camp, will be paid 
for at an equitable rate, and in solid coin. 

" In consciousness of Christianity, my royal 
master's clemency, and the honor of soldier- 
ship, I have dwelt upon this invitation, and 
wished for more persuasive terms to give it 
impression. And let not people be led to 
disregard it, by considering their distance from 
the immediate situation of my camp. I have 
but to give stretch to the Indian forces under 
my direction, and they amount to thousands, 
to overtake the hardened enemies of Great 
Britain and America : I consider them the 
same wherever they may lurk. 

" If notwithstanding these endeavors, and 
sincere inchnations to effect them, the phrenzy 
of hostility should remain, I trust I shall stand 
acquitted in the eyes of God and men, in de- 
nouncing and executing the vengeance of the 
state against the wilful outcasts. The mes- 
sengers of justice and of wrath await thera 
in the field ; and devastation, famine, and ev- 
ery concomitant horror that a reluctant but 
indispensable prosecution of military duty must 
occasion, will bear the way to their return. 
J. BURGOYNE. 

By order of His Excellency the Lieutenant General, 

ROBERT KINGSl^ON, Sec. 
Camp near Ticonderoga, 4th July, 1777. 



120 NARRATIVE OF 

General Burgoyne was still the toast; and 
the severities towardi the prisoners were in 
great measure increased or diminished, in pro- 
portion to the expectation of conquest. His 
very ostentatious Proclamation was in the 
hand and mouth of most of the soldiery, es- 
pecially the tories, and from it their faith was 
raised to assurance. I wish my countrymen 
in general could but have an idea of the as- 
suming tyranny, and haughty, malevolent, and 
insolent behavior of the enemy at that time ; 
and from thence discern the intolerable calam- 
ities which this country have extricated them- 
selves from by their public spiritedness and 
bravery. The downfall of General Burgoyne 
and surrender of his whole army, dashed the 
aspiring hopes and expectations of the enemy, 
and brought low the imperious spirit of an 
opulent, puissant and haughty nation, and 
made the tories bite the ground with anguish, 
exalting the valor of the free-born sons of 
America, and raised their fame and that of 
their brave commanders to the clouds, and 
immortalized General Gates with laurels of 
eternal duration. 

No sooner had the knowledge of this inter- 
esting and mighty event reached His Most 
Christian Majesty, who in Europe shines with 
a superior lustre in goodness, policy and arms, 
but the illustrious potentate, auspiciously in- 



tTHAN ALLEN. 121 

Huenced by Heaven to promote the reciprocal 
interest and happiness of the ancient kingdom 
of France, and the new and rising States of 
America, passed the great and decisive de- 
cree, that the United Sta,tes of America, 
should be Free and Independent. Vaunt 
no more Old England ! consider you are but 
an island ! and that your power has been con- 
tinued longer than the exercise of your hu- 
manity. Order your broken and vanquished 
battalions to retire from America, the scene 
of your cruelties. Go home and repent in 
dust and sackloth for your aggravated crimes. 
The cries of bereaved parents, widows, and 
orphans, reach the Heavens, and you are 
abominated by every friend to America. Take 
your friends tiie tories with you, and be gone, 
and drink deep of the cup of humiliation. 
Make peace with the princes of the house of 
Bourbon, for you are in no condition to wage 
war with them. Your veteran soldiers are 
fallen in America, and your glory is departed. 
Be quiet and pay your debts, especially for 
the hire of the Hessians. There is no other 
way for you to get into credit again, but by 
reformation and plain honesty, which you 
have despised ; for your power is by no means 
sufficient to support your vanity. I have had 
opportunity to see a great deal of it, and felt 
its severe effects, and learned lessons of wis- 
11 



122 NARRATIVE OF 

dom and policy, when I wore your heavy 
irons, and bore your bitter revilings and re- 
proaches. I have something of a smattering 
of philosophy, and understand human nature 
in all its stages tolerably well ; am thoroughly 
acquainted with your national crimes, and 
assure you that they not only cry aloud for 
Heaven's vengeance, ^but excite mankind to 
rise up against you. Virtue, wisdom and 
policy, are in a national sense always connect- 
ed with power, or in other words, power is 
their offspring, and such power as is not di- 
rected by virtue, wisdom and policy, never 
fails finally to destroy itself as yours has done. 
It is so in the nature of things, and unfit that 
it should be otherwise ; for if it was not so, 
vanity, injustice, and oppression, might reign 
triumphant forever. 1 know you have indi- 
viduals, who still retain their virtue, and con- 
sequently their honor and humanity. Those 
I really pity, as they must more or less suffer 
in the calamity, in which the nation is plunged; 
but as a nation I hate and despise you. 

My affections are Frenchified. I glory in 
Louis the sixteenth, the generous and power- 
ful ally of th^'se States ; am fond of a connec- 
tion with so enterprising, learned, polite, cour- 
teous, and commercial a nation, and am sure 
that I express the sentiments and feelings of 
all the friends to the present revolution. I 



ETHAN ALLEN. 123 

begin to learn the French tongue, and recom- 
mend it to my countrymen before Hebrew, 
Greek or Latin, (provided but one of them 
only are to be attended to) for the trade and 
commerce of these States in future must inev- 
itably shift its channel from England to France, 
Spain and Portugal ; and therefore the states- 
man, politician and merchant, need be ac- 
quainted with their several languages, particu- 
larly the French, which is much in vogue in 
most parts of Europe. Nothing could have 
served so effectually to illuminate, polish and 
enrich these States as the present revolution, 
as well as preserve their liberty. Mankind 
are naturally too national, even to the degree 
of bigotry, and commercial intercourse with 
foreign nations has a great and necessary ten- 
dency to improve mankind, and erase the su- 
perstition of the mind by acquainting them 
that human nature, policy and interest, are the 
same in all nations, and at the same time they 
are bartering commodities for the conveniences 
and happiness of each nation, they may recip- 
rocally exchange such part of their customs 
and manners as may be beneficial, and learn 
to extend charity and good will to the whole 
world of mankind. 

I was confined in the provost-gaol at New 
York the 26th day of August, and continued 
there to the third day of May, 1778, when [ 



124 NARRATIVE OP 

was taken out under guard, and conducted to 
a sloop in the harbor at New York, in which 
I was guarded to Staten Island, to General 
Campbell's quarters, where I was admitted to 
eat and drink with the General a^d several 
other of the British field officers, and treated 
for two days in a polite manner. As I was 
drinking wine with them one evening, J made 
an observation on my transition from the pro- 
vost-criminals to the company of gentlemen, 
adding, that I was the same man still, and 
should give the British credit by him, (speak- 
ing to the General) for two days' good usage. 
The next day Colonel Archibald Campbell 
(who was exchanged for me) came to this 
place, conducted by Mr. Boudinot, the then 
American commissary of prisoners, and sa- 
luted me in a handsome manner, saying that 
he never was more glad to see any gentleman 
in his life. I gave him to understand that I 
was equally glad to see him, and was appre- 
hensive that it was from the same motive. 
The gentlemen present laughed at the fancy, 
and conjectured that sweet liberty was the 
foundation of our gladness ; so we took a glass 
of wine togetjier, and then I was accompanied 
by General Campbell, Col. Campbell, Mr. 
Boudinot, and a number of British officers, to 
the boat, which was ready to sail to Eliza- 
bethtown Point. Meanwhile I entertained 



ETHAN ALLEN. 125 

them with a rehearsal of the cruehies exercised 
towards our prisoners ; and assured them that 
I should use my influence that their prisoners 
should be treated in future in the same manner 
as they should in future treat ours ; that I 
thought it was right, in such cases, that their 
example should be applied to their own pris- 
oners ; then exchanged the decent ceremonies 
of compliment, and parted. I sailed to the 
Point aforesaid, and in a transport of joy, 
landed on liberty ground ; and as I advanced 
into the country, received the acclamations of 
a grateful people. 

I soon fell into company with Colonel Shel- 
den, of the light horse, who, in a polite and 
obliging manner, accompanied me to head 
quarters,' Valley Forge, where I was cour- 
teously received by General Washington, 
wjth peculiar marks of his approbation and 
esteem, and was introduced to most of the 
Generals and many of the principal officers of 
the army, who treated me with respect ; and 
after having offered General Washington my 
further service, in behalf of my country, as 
soon as my health (which was much impaired) 
would admit, and obtained his license to return 
home, 1 took my leave of his Excellency, and 
set out from Valley Forge with General Gates 
and his suite for Fishkill, where we arrived 
the latter end of May. In this tour the Gen* 
1^ 



126 - Allen's narrative. 

eral was pleased to treat me with the familiarity 
of a companion, and generosity of a lord ; 
and to him I made known some striking cir- 
cumstances which occurred in the course of 
my captivity. I then bid farewell to my noble 
General and the gentlemen of his retinue, and 
set out for Bennington, the capital of the 
Green Mountain Be ys, where I arrived the 
evening of the last day of May to their great 
surprise ; for I was to them as one rose from 
the dead, and now their joy and mine was 
complete. Three cannon were fired that eve- 
ning, and next morning Col. Herrick gave 
orders, and fourteen more were discharged, 
welcoming me to Bennington, my usual place 
of abode ; — thirteen for the United States, and 
one for young Vermont. 

After this ceremony was ended, we moved 
the flowing bowl ; and rural felicity, sweetened 
with friendship, glowed in each countenance ; 
and, with loyal healths to the rising States of 
America, concluded that evening ; and with 
the same loyal spirit, I now conclude my 
narrative. 



LIBHAHY Uh CONGRESS 




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